A Chance to Teach Again
by missmargo
Summary: Erik has left France for good, he now is in England and he is starting a new life. Soon he is approached by a woman who runs an academy for music....Could Erik really be a true teacher?
1. Prologue

Prologue –

After nearly six years of solitary suffering in his home, Erik was ready to leave it. He wanted to get out of there. Although he knew he could never be like other men who traveled, visiting the sights of the world, he still wanted to go.

"Where will you go?" Madame Giry asked him when he somehow showed up at her door. It had been quite a shock for the old women, but she never was one to question Erik. He showed up out of nowhere when he wanted to be seen.

"I do not know. Away is all I can tell you at the present time," he replied looking around the old lady's home. "You have a nice little set up here; I have not heard you speak of Meg, though."

"It has been over five and a half years. Erik, Meg is married and living in London." Erik just sat there contemplating the statement. The world had very much been going on without him. He even doubted the world cared that he the Phantom was still alive and physically well.

"Oh, well, what of other people from the opera house?" He asked slyly, wondering if she would catch on.

"Christine is fine," she replied, not fooled for a minute. "She and Raoul are happily married, and they too have left the country. Although, I believe, they happen to have gone to live in America. I do not hear from them often, but Meg tells me they are well."

Erik nodded. His first thought was that straight away, he needed to jump on a ship to America to find her, but America was a big country, very far away at that; and he was trying to start a new life, not have it ended by the boy. Madame Giry worried about the awkward silence, wondering if Erik was making plans in his head to go to America. "What will you do? Where will you go?" She asked again.

He thought for a minute. "Maybe I shall go to England. There must be somewhere worth staying there, I just need to get out of this country." Madame Giry nodded. She worried about him. He was still a wanted criminal after all, but she could do nothing. He was not one to listen to reason.

Erik considered going back to the old Opera house and getting some of his possessions, but he had very few he wanted to keep. They all held bad memories for him. So, instead, he snuck on a ride going down to the docks. In Calais, he pulled a hood over his head and approached the ticket counter. Then he began to laugh at himself. Since when was he one to buy a ticket and ask permission to do anything? Instead, he turned around and made his way to the actual boat that would be taking him away. He got on, no problem, but afterward he had no idea where he was supposed to go. He wandered around the ship until he came across a small room where he could easily hide.

They soon reached England. It was a new existence for Erik, but he knew if he ever needed to go back, he could. He got off the boat and stood for a while looking at the city of Canterbury. He did not really want to stay there, but he was not in the mood to see London. He visited a local café and sat for a minute. He overheard a conversation between two men, a few tables over, talking about going to Liverpool.

Erik considered it for a minute and thought that it might be worth a try. It was not the center point of England, but it also was not a rural community that he would despise. Therefore, he decided he would go to Liverpool. Hopefully, it would bring him a new life.


	2. That Voice Which Calls to Me

Chapter 1 –

" Elizabeth!" called one of the other staff members to their employer as she rushed down the hall.

"Yes?" she asked as she turned. "If it can wait, I really need to get down to classroom six, because they have a problem with the fireplace and they are all freezing!"

"Oh, well. I'll explain while you go down there," he said as he caught up to her. "Anyway, today they broke another one of the violins. We need to send them to be repaired soon, because we are down to only three instruments for a group of five string instrument players, and we have the performance coming up soon as you know…"

"Okay, I'll have them sent there tonight, Mr. Jacobs, I promise. Just leave them on my desk," Elizabeth replied as she rushed down to classroom six. When she opened the door, she found the ballet instructor as well as her group of ballerinas stretching in the corner in their winter clothes and Elizabeth began to laugh. "Well! How would you guys like to have a fire?" she asked.

"Oh, yes! Please, I can't seem to get it lit." The teacher replied.

Elizabeth made her way over to the fireplace and found that it was somehow blocked. She sighed and looked to her friend and co-worker, "I think I may need to get someone in here tomorrow to fix it, but for now you guys can do your class in the lunch room. I'll help you move the tables." She gave her friend an apologetic smile, but it was waved off.

She headed to the lunch area, where they moved around tables for the students to do their dancing. Elizabeth left. "Miss Bennet?" She turned around and saw one of the music students.

"Hello, Fredrick. How are you today?"

"Good, but I was just wondering if you had found a new Music teacher for us."

"Oh, well, I've been trying but right now it seems that every other thing that could go wrong at this place has, but I promise that soon I will have a teacher for you. I know it is hard for the class to have Mr. Colvin as your teacher, but I promise it will be soon." He smiled and ran off. Elizabeth did feel bad. These students were supposed to be having instruction by a great vocalist and accompanist, but she only had the second instrument teacher to help, and his voice was not great at all.

Now she headed back for her small office. When she got inside, it was to find three string instruments on her table. She sighed and sat down in the comfortable chair across from her desk. Her first order of business was to get a note to the chimney sweep so the ballerinas were not in the cold for another day. She wrote it quickly, then sent it to her running boy who went quickly to the sweep. Next, she wrote another note to the instrument technician, asking if he could repair the violins as soon as possible.

After she was done writing notes, she realized that it was nearing lunch, and she had promised the ballet class that she would help them move the tables back for lunch. She headed down there and then helped the lunch staff get the food ready. She helped to supervise at lunch. Then she was finally able to sit down again. As soon as she did, she had the music instructor applications sitting in front of her. As she went through them, again she found no one suitable for the position, just as she suspected. After putting those aside, she got her letters back from both the chimney sweep, who was able to come in the next morning at seven, and the technician, who would happily have the violins done for the next afternoon if Elizabeth brought them to him that night.

She decided she would sit in and watch some of the classes this afternoon, particularly the vocal class. She passed the front foyer, and her face saddened as she viewed the sign reading "Christopher Bennet School of Fine Arts." She, Elizabeth, had opened the school four years ago. Her father had died a year before and had left the family business to her and her brother David, but she had no desire to run it.

Instead, she sold her half of it to David and planned to open the school. She did not want it to be in London though; the city was not a good place for kids to learn. So she had opened it in the country and provided lodgings for the children during the year. Unfortunately, weeks before the opening of the school, her young nephew Christopher died in a drowning accident and it devastated the family. Elizabeth had always loved her nephew. He had been very interested in going to his aunt's school, so she named the school after her beloved Christopher and finally, three months after the original date, opened the school. It had been a great success and she now had more of a fortune than her brother, but that was no matter to her.

The school was mainly for the young richer kids in England, but she sometimes had students from much farther than that. She also felt that kids who were not rich should also have the chance to go to her school so she offered up to three scholarships a year to talented kids. The school had only fifty students but they were some of the most talented in the country. They had fifteen ballerinas, twenty-five instrumental students, and ten vocal students. Forty of the students lived on the second and third floors, as only ten lived near enough to go home each day. The school put on three concerts a year, a Christmas one, which was followed by a party, a spring one in late May, and a fall one in October. The students were given a month off in July and were at the school from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon. As well as studying the fine arts, they also studied normal studies such as reading, writing, geography, and such. The school was run very well and it was Elizabeth's life. She was nearing thirty and had no desire to marry; she was happy with her school and her students were the only family she needed.

She continued her walk to the vocal classroom. She was greeted nicely, and the students then performed a choral piece for her. She happily listened. After about a half an hour, she could not stand the voice of Mr. Colvin for another minute so she smiled and went to visit other students.

At the end of the day, Elizabeth met with some of her co-workers for a minute and they discussed the progress of some students and the behavior of others. Soon after, though, the others decided to leave for the night and Elizabeth went around making sure everything was in order. She also took a walk down to the bank to retrieve the money needed to pay both the repairman and the chimney sweepers the next day. She then returned to the school and went around one final time to turn the lights out for the night. She thought she was done for the night, so she headed home.

She had bought a large home just down the road from the school. It used to be a home owned by a very large rich family, but Elizabeth fell in love with it. It was much too big for just her, and she had spent so much money repairing it, but it was, in her opinion, well worth it. The Summerside mansion was the nicest in the town and she was proud to own it.

As she made her way along the road, she soon remembered that she had left the three string instruments in her office. Her first instinct was to turn around, but she was most of the way home and it would be much easier and faster for her to hurry home, then take her horse back to the school. So, that was what she did; she saddled up Dallas as soon as she reached the house, told her housekeeper to start her dinner and that she would be home within the hour.

Elizabeth rode very quickly back to the Academy, jumped off her horse and tied him up. She was quiet when she went inside, it was only five-thirty and the students would be finishing their dinner. She knew that she would not be able to get away from the school within the hour if she were to be seen by some of her students. She was much loved by all the students, and they often kept her busy for hours if she was to see them after dinner.

She crept into her office and ducked down in order not to be seen while the students were escorted back to their bedrooms. She quickly grabbed the instruments and then it dawned on her that she would have to carry them over to the repairman because she could not ride with them. As she was about to leave she heard an odd sound: the organ in the practice room for vocalists. There was no one at the school at this hour that played the organ that she knew of, since both Mr. Colvin and Mr. Jacobs had gone home hours ago. She worried that a student had snuck off and she knew she must deal with that. Elizabeth set the three instruments down on a bench and headed to the vocal practice room. She opened the door quietly and instead of finding a student out of bed, she saw a man sitting there playing. She had never seen that man before and it worried her that he had gotten into the school.

The thoughts soon left her head when she heard what he was playing. It was a powerful piece that spoke to her as he played. It had much sorrow in it, and it made her sad to listen to it, wondering what would make this man so sad. Soon he began to hum along with it. She could not make out words, but the voice was beyond alluring. She could not help think that he would be much better to listen to than the dreadful voice of Mr. Colvin. This man's voice was best described as that of an angel, more than that of a man, and Elizabeth could not help but listen intently to it. She listened for a brief period longer and soon cleared her throat. The music stopped instantly, the last note still ringing, and the man looked at her with a venomous glare. It was only then that she had noticed that the man had a pale-as-death white mask on the other side of his face.

"May I inquire as to what you are doing in my school? At this hour? Unannounced?" Elizabeth finally got the courage to say.

So for any of you keen people who might notice that the name I chose is a character from Pride and Prejudice, I would like for you to know that after re-reading that story I actually decided to write this story. I wanted to leave a special regard to Gevaisa from Aria who referred to Pride and Prejudice in my last story (which I deleted) and I thought that for that fact I wanted to use the name sort of as an inspiration. In addition, I want to say that this story will be my Erik version of Pride and Prejudice. My Elizabeth is proud of what she is, what she has done for herself, and Erik, we all know, is a proud man… and he is in a way the Mr. Darcy of my story. However, do not worry I will not make an exact copy… because it is hard to rival the work of Jane Austen! Oh and the area the story will take place is a lot like the setting of Jane Austen's.


	3. An Unexpected Situation

This chapter and the next will have quite a bit of dialogue…..it is just for the two characters to get to know each other.

Chapter 2 -

"May I inquire as to what you are doing in my school at this hour unannounced?" Elizabeth finally got the courage to say.

"I assumed an academy of the arts would have an organ or at least a piano inside. I soon found this one; it's not the best I have played. It was slightly out of tune, I might add, but I found it useful to my purpose." He replied calmly.

"Yes, but you still are trespassing in my school. sir, which is unacceptable since I do not trust strangers near my students." She replied getting angrier. Then she got an idea. "Although, you do play very well."

"What on earth is that supposed to mean?" He asked, not caring how rude he sounded, because he was, in fact, still Erik, who never was one to care how rude he was.

"Never mind!" she stated angrily.

"If it was nothing, silly girl, you wouldn't have said it. Now, what do you mean? Were you being sarcastic with me? Because I assure you, I am not a person of good humor. And I do not mean to boast, but I do believe that I play very well." He was standing now, and had made his way closer to her, making himself even more intimidating.

"No, I was not being sarcastic. I happen to think you play well, and in truth I was just wondering out loud if you had ever taught."

"Taught? Taught what? Taught people how to play the organ?" He looked at her as if she was crazy, and he truly believed she was at that moment. Who would he ever have taught to play the organ?

"No, vocal lessons. You were also singing." she replied as if it were completely obvious. The look in his eyes changed and Elizabeth soon saw sadness in his eyes. Apparently, this was a bad memory for the man, one that seemed to haunt him.

"I see," he finally replied after a long silence. "I have only ever taught one person and teaching is not what I plan on doing with my life." His tone had changed and it seemed as if it was painful for him to speak those words.

"I was only asking," Elizabeth tried to make the man feel better after she had obviously brought up something very painful.

"Besides, I am only passing through on my way to Liverpool. The companions I was traveling with left me here nearly a month ago, and I am trying to find alternate transportation to get me there," he replied. He had made it halfway, or so he thought, to that city when the men he had traveled with had actually changed their minds and gone instead to London, and he did not want to go to London. Therefore, he had gotten off at the nearest sight of civilization, but this town hardly seemed civilized to him.

"Why Liverpool, if you don't mind me asking?" Elizabeth inquired.

"I do not mind you asking, girl, but that does not concern you. Just because you ask does not mean I shall answer."

"Would you please, sir, stop referring to me as girl. I give you the courtesy of giving you the respect you may, or may not, deserve." Elizabeth was beginning to find this man insufferable.

"This job of yours—what would it require?" He changed the subject as if it were nothing.

"I thought you did not want it." She replied with a half smirk on her face.

He saw the smirk and replied angrily. "I was merely asking. You seem rather desperate since you would ask a man who snuck into your establishment unannounced and uninvited."

"It would require working with young children, some as young as five, some as old as twelve, on their singing abilities. You would be an accompanist as well. However, you say you have very little experience, and you also seem to have anger issues. I do not believe a man with anger issues should work with children. So, if you wouldn't mind, kindly leave my school."

"You seem to be getting quite angry with me right now. Maybe you yourself should not be working with children." She opened her mouth to protest but she could not say a thing. This man was horrible. Elizabeth already disliked him, and this was before knowing of his past, had she known, she would have been terrified of him being near her students fearing their safety right away.

"Do you seriously have nothing to say? I am shocked. In addition, I would make a great teacher, as I would not lose my temper near the children. I assume you do the same daily. Furthermore the student I did teach before grew up to be a very accomplished singer, and for a brief occasion was lead soprano at an opera house in Paris, but I would be much obliged to leave your property at once." It took all his might not to break down at the thought of Christine, but instead he gathered his cloak and slipped past the speechless woman near the doorway.

Elizabeth stood for a few more seconds trying to decipher what had actually just happened. When she did, she realized that the man who had not only been rude to her, but also openly insulted her, was the best man she could possibly hire for the job at her school. By now though, he was already out the door and down the hall. She hurried after him and was able to catch up with him as he got to the front doors. "Sir, are you interested in the position or not? Even if it just were temporary, I would like to hire you. If I found another who was good enough for the job, I would happily let you go. You are right sir, I am desperate, my students need a proper teacher, and for my students' sake, I am not too proud to beg."

"How long would it be?" He asked feeling bad for this woman.

"Only until you wanted to leave. I would find a replacement as soon as you asked it of me."

"What are the wages?"

"Ten pounds a week." she replied, hoping it would suit him. If it did not, she would be willing to go higher.

"And what of the lodgings? Am I to stay here?"

"No, I have three people who watch the children at night. The teachers are free to go home at the end of the day." Elizabeth was trying to be as nice as she could to this man; she still did not like his attitude one bit.

"I have nowhere else to go." He replied honestly.

Elizabeth did not know what to say to that. She was not able to have him stay at the school; the rooms were full. Then a crazy idea popped into her head, and in the state that she was in, crazy things are very often blurted out. "You could stay at my home. I live just down the street at a home called Summerside. It is only my servants and I who live there. There would be many open rooms for you."

He was taken back by this statement. "You want me to stay with you?" he asked with a slight laugh to his tone.

"If you would accept the job, I would." she replied. "I would dock off one pound a week for food and lodgings, if that is to your satisfaction."

"I could find a cheaper home than a pound a week, Miss."

"But it would not be as nice as what I could offer you at Summerside, I assure you that. I take much pride in my home and I think you would like it there." she replied, smiling.

"I shall see and find out. We shall go there now." He stepped out the door. He was commanding her, and that was a new occurrence for Elizabeth.

"I first need to go to the repairman to have some instruments fixed."

"What types of instruments?"

"String."

"I can fix them. Bring them along." He replied. His tone had changed; this man seemed to like to have the control of a situation.

"Sir?" Elizabeth said as she brought the three instruments outside

"Yes?" He asked impatiently.

"What is your name?" she asked wondering how in the confusion of it all she did not know that small bit of information.

"Erik, Just Erik, and yours miss?"

"Elizabeth Bennet, but I prefer just Elizabeth, except from my students."

The two made their way to the mansion in silence. Although he did not say anything when they reached Elizabeth's home, Erik's expression changed, and she knew he was impressed by it.

When they got inside, Elizabeth, who had been gone for much longer than an hour, asked the maids to instruct her chef to have more food made for her guest. She also asked them to go and make the finest bedroom in the east wing usable for her guest. They agreed nicely ,although they knew the chef would be angry. He was in fact furious, so he decided on a simple dish for the two that he could make quickly.

Elizabeth went back to find Erik in order to show him where he was to stay, but she found her guest sitting on the floor, like a child, trying to fix a violin. "I can show you a table which might be better."

"I am fine here, I assure you." He replied and turned his full attention back to the instrument.

Before dinner was ready, Elizabeth insisted on showing him to his room. He had almost an entire wing of the house to himself—not that he would really need it. His bedroom was nice; the windows were far too big for his taste, since he still much preferred the night, and darkness, but the bed called to him. He had very much wanted to sleep in a nice comfortable bed ever since he left Paris. That, of all things, he missed most about his lair back in Paris.

After being shown his room, he was also shown around the rest of the house. He saw where the kitchens were, where the very large and well-stocked library was, and where the various studies, parlors, dining rooms, and such were. He was in fact very impressed by the home Elizabeth kept, and he wondered for the first time why she lived alone.

Surely, there must be someone in her life worth living with—but he also knew all too well that prying into other people's business was not something to be done in this way.

After showing him the inside of the house, she mentioned that she had much more to show him in the backyard. "I have a swimming pool, it was built for my nephew a few years ago, but I hardly ever use it, now."

He was quite surprised, from what he knew, swimming pools were not something that the average person had at their home.

"I also have a private tennis court, it is one of only seven in the country, and out of the seven it is the only private one. Very few people even know of it." He just nodded calmly, trying to say it was not that impressive. It was in fact very impressive.

"You may go back to what you were doing, sir. I won't keep you away from your violin any longer."

"Call me Erik, Elizabeth." he replied. He turned around. She tried not to get angry; she had not actually given him permission to call her by her first name, but she also had not denied him the privilege, so she said nothing.

After the tour of the home he went back to find that the violin had been moved. He went to sit at the table, where he assumed a maid had put it. She also seemed to have moved the rest of the instruments nearer to the table, too. He would have preferred just to sit on the floor and work on it, but what maid would want violin parts all over the floor? Therefore, he calmly sat at the table and began to work intently.

When dinner was ready, he did stop to eat because although he never ate much, he did find that the lack of food was catching up to him, and this freshly prepared meal would be nice.


	4. A Late Night Suprise

I am not sure how long this will be, I am sure it will not be a short 5-10 chapter story but beyond that I do not know, I think it will probably be a longer one. Anyway… I want to dedicate this whole story to Gevaisa because she is sort of my inspiration for it. )

Chapter 3 –

They were now sitting at the table in silence and Elizabeth finally gave in and started conversation. "Would you like to know about any of your students and co-workers?"

"Sure. I guess I better know something about them before I begin to teach them and teach with them." Erik replied. They were both trying very hard to be nice to each other, and both were having a hard time of it, but they managed.

"Well, in total you teach only ten kids. Our school has only fifty in total. We have had up to seventy-five, and we can handle up to one hundred, but for now we are at the comfortable number of fifty."

"I see, and what of my students, what are they like?"

"Very talented and very rich, but they are the sweetest kids I know. Would you like to know about each individual student?"

"Sure. I guess I will have to learn about them all soon enough."

"Okay. Well, to begin, we have two siblings, Jennifer and Andrew Billings. Andrew is older by one year. Jennifer is one of the very few altos we have. She is very talented. Andrew is obviously a tenor, for now. You must understand that you do not have any students to sing bass, because truthfully they are too young to have low voices. If you choose a song that has a bass range, you may sing it if you like."

"I didn't think about that, but I understand." This was not what he had been planning. He had many ideas for what to teach them, but without a bass part, it would not work.

"Next, you have Julie Barns and Hattie Caldwell. They are best friends, have been for years. They both sing soprano. Julie would be a good alto, but she won't leave Hattie's side. She is one of the shyer students." She took a break to think for a minute. "The only two other boys are Jimmy Davis and Fredrick Henderson. They have very nice voices, and Fredrick is our scholarship student. He is quite talented, but his family could not afford the tuition, so we pay his way.

"We have one more alto, Aurora Walker. Between her and Jennifer, they do a very good job, but sometimes are overpowered by the five sopranos. I would seriously suggest getting Julie to switch." He just nodded not saying anything. "The other three sopranos are Caroline Henson, who is quite talented. Unfortunately, she knows it, so you may have to keep her in line. She likes to take all the solos. Caroline is probably your biggest problem in the class."

"Oh, I assure you, I can handle girls who want to be future divas." Erik replied with a laugh, thinking of how he could drop something on her, but the thought left as soon as it came. It was too cruel. He would, though, put this girl in her place.

"In addition, there is Brianna Carlson. She is Caroline's closest friend, but I think she is more terrified by the girl that anything. Brianna is just as talented as Caroline, but she would never even try for a solo in fear she might get it, over Caroline. Oh, and Emily Dulaurier, she is your youngest student. She has promising talent, and everyone enjoys her company." She sat thinking for a minute if there was anything else she should tell him. "Oh! Yes, I just remembered, we may or may not have a young boy who lived in America join our class. His family is coming back and he may be attending the Academy, if his parents find it suitable. He will not be here until after Christmas, though, if he comes. I have gotten letters from his old tutor giving him nothing but praise, so he will most likely be coming here. So your total may rise to eleven."

"I see. That is fine with me. So will I be starting tomorrow?"

"I can show you around and introduce you tomorrow if you'd like." He nodded.

"If I decide to leave, how long will I have to stay?"

"Hopefully, you would be kind enough to stay until I find another teacher, but if you insisted you could leave—whenever." They sat in silence for a few more minutes. "So, Erik, do you compose?"

"Compose? Yes, I do." He replied surprised at this.

"Have you had anything performed?"

"One, but it went bad in the opera house it was performed in. That was six years ago, I have not had anything performed since. Why do you ask?"

"Well, as of now, our school has no one other than me who composes. I usually write a finished piece at the end of the year for the students to perform. Almost like a mini opera, only for children. Madame Hartford, our dance instructor, makes the dance part of it, and the vocal teacher teaches the songs to the singers. It usually attracts people from all over. Sometimes our oldest students are offered instruction in other places since we only keep the children until age twelve. If you compose, it might be nice to have some help in the writing portion of it." He nodded thinking it over. "But that is in late May, and you may not be here for that."

"When does your school year end?"

"We go all through June, the students have July off, and then they return in August. They are given two weeks at Christmas, but most of the parents come to visit at Christmas so the children stay here. Oh—speaking of that, we need you to teach the children some Christmas carols. We do a Christmas concert. You can teach them other stuff, but it will have to wait to be performed. We carol at Christmas. Is that a problem?"

"No, it was not what I had in mind, but I can do it." Christmas Carols! He was not at all happy about having to teach them Christmas carols.

"Oh, and you have the students all to yourself, all day on Tuesday and Thursday, but on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, they do their other studies. They learn Math, Geography, Reading, Writing, and such. So tomorrow your students will join the ballerinas and do Math and Writing, I think." He nodded. "Would you like to know more about your staff?"

"Not really, I have a lot to comprehend about my students and the way this school is run. I do think it is done oddly."

"I take pride in the way I run my school, and I don't believe it is your place to tell me how to run it. The parents and the students don't complain, and none of the other teachers have a problem with it."

"I understand, but I am not one of your other teachers. Well, I am done with my dinner now. I shall go and finish the work on the violin and start on the others." He got up quickly and exited the room. Elizabeth had no desire to eat now; she pushed her plate away and retired to her private study. She had instructed Erik to avoid her private study and her bedroom, other than that he had free reign over the whole house.

At around ten o'clock, she became tired, put down the book she had been reading, and headed up for bed. She awoke at around two in the morning to a loud bang and was instantly wide-awake wondering what had happened.

As she got out of her room, she saw some of the maids coming down from the top level where they lived. "I can handle it dears, go back to sleep." Elizabeth said kindly to them and they nodded and went back upstairs.

She continued down to where she thought she had heard the bang and she found Erik still sitting at the same table. "Erik, I don't need those done tonight. The students won't need them until Thursday. In fact, they probably won't need them until next week." She said annoyed to find that it was probably him causing all the noise.

"I can finish." He snarled back at her.

"Yes, but if you do keep going you will continue to wake me up and put me in an even worse mood than I already am. Go to bed."

"I do not take orders from anyone." He said angrily not taking his eyes off the instrument. He now had the first two done and was working on the last one. "Besides, I do believe you gave me free reign over this house, aside from your private rooms, so I shall finish this, and then, if I have time, get some sleep."

"If you don't go to bed now, you will be grumpy tomorrow for the first time you meet your students. How would you enjoy that? Do you really want them to be terrified of you while you teach them?"

"I will be fine. I am not one to sleep much anyway. I will be fine in the morning."

"Please go to bed, Erik. I can't sleep knowing you are down here, doing work for me all night." she said, almost in a pleading voice.

"I will be fine, Elizabeth, just go up to bed and I will see you in the morning. I am almost done with this one and I promise there will be no more loud noises to wake you from your slumber. I'll get some sleep, I swear to you." he said calmly. "In fact, this instrument is not broken at all, it just has…" He pulled something out of it. "…A surprise inside." He held up an old moldy sandwich and her face was one of disgust. "So now I shall retire to my room, and Elizabeth, you should do the same." He smiled to her and as a gentleman would, he escorted her to her room, then turned the other way and went to his.

When she closed the door, she began to breath heavy and leaned against it. Sometimes she hated the man, and other times he was nothing but kind. For this, she was beginning to hate herself. She did not like the way she acted around Erik. He seemed to bring out the worst in her character.

Erik headed towards his room but stopped at the library first. He skimmed through her collection and found one he had yet to read, so he took it to his bedroom. He knew he would get very little sleep that night. He took off his outer clothing, lay down on his back, and began to read. His thoughts kept going back to Elizabeth, though ,and soon he could not even read. Why could he not get her out of his mind? There was nothing special about her. She lived by herself, and her life was consumed by her work. She had also insulted him and that was not a fact he liked about her, but for some reason all he could do was think of her. He almost wished he could reveal his past to her. Then he would be able to control her through fear, but in doing that, he would be taken away from his music once again. He was not excited about teaching an entire group of young rich kids, but he did want to be surrounded by music again, and it seemed that these little brats would be his way to it.

Then his thoughts drifted to the children. He was not going to put up with the snotty girl who wanted to be the next Carlotta. He was interested in working with the younger kids. A younger child would be much easier to teach because they were not as stuck up, and it was easier to mold a young mind than an old one full of ideas for themselves.

He then thought about his Christine: where was she, and was she happy? If the boy had made her unhappy, he would easily kill him. He wanted to be able to teach her again. She had been his life, and he could tell already that he would never feel the same way about another person. He did want to be able to teach, but if he could teach Christine, he would be the happiest man on earth. That, however, would never happen. He had let her go, and he was going to have to live with that for the rest of his life.


	5. At The Academy

Chapter 4 –

The next morning Elizabeth woke to find Erik already downstairs. She had dark circles under her eyes since she had been up for nearly an hour after her run in with Erik that night. He however looked just as he did the night before.

"Good morning." She said kindly.

"Hello Elizabeth." He said with the expression he was not eating, he was just drinking some of the coffee sitting on the table. She sat down and reached for a mug and she poured herself some. "Don't you look tired this morning? Lack of sleep?" She gave him a deathly glare.

"In fact I did Erik. I could not get back to sleep after being rudely woken up at all hours of the night." She smiled and took a sip of her coffee. "Oh, I meant to ask you, what on earth your last name is. I thought about it while I was awake last night."

"It's nice to hear that you think of me that often." He replied with a smirk.

"That was uncalled for sir." She replied. Why did this man have to be the most qualified that she had seen for the job. "Please do avoid the question though." She added sarcastically.

"I do not have a last name if you have to know."

"Then what are the children going to call you? They are your students they can't just call you Erik."

"They can, and apparently they will."

Her frustration was growing. "I need to head to the school early; I have men coming to work on the chimneys at seven." She also planned to visit the repairman to pay him a small sum even though his services were not needed, she felt bad that she had not gone to explain.

"Well I'd like to go early too."

"I have a few stops to make first, so I shall see you there." She replied and had her carriage ready for her. She did not want to have to carry the instruments herself, and she definitely did not want to be in Erik's company for longer than she had to. "Oh, Erik, at seven thirty I am holding a staff meeting you can meet your co-workers."

"I can not contain my excitement." He replied using her sarcastic tone.

She glared at him but his gaze was the other way. Once outside she screamed in frustration. How on earth was she going to live with him for more than a few days, not to mention work with him daily. She went to the repairman first because she still had a few minutes before the chimney sweeps would be there.

"Hello Miss Bennet." He greeted her nicely. "I expected you last night."

"Sorry Mr. Reynolds, apparently we were not in need of your services after all, but I have brought you payment for your time anyway."

"You are way too kind Mademoiselle." Said Mr. Reynolds.

"Thank you for your praise, but I just felt bad." She smiled and handed him some coins.

She turned to wave to the repairman as she left the store, and in doing so, she ran straight into a man. She recognized him by his light blonde curls. "Hello Mr. Wilkinson." She said nicely. She really hated the man. He was probably the highest-class man in the community, but she hated him all the same. He was married but he hardly let his wife leave the house. He had been subtly seeking Elizabeth as his mistress for many months, but she would never think to sink to that level, she was a lady of class and she had her own wealth, she did not need him to supply her with gifts.

"Hello Elizabeth dear. How are you on this fine and Beautiful day, not unlike yourself I might add."

"I am fine sir." She said between clenched teeth

"How many times must I ask you to call me Roger?"

"It is not proper Mr. Wilkinson."

"You do not seem to mind me calling you Elizabeth." He said her name in a lustful tone and it disgusted her. She just smiled instead of answering his question. "Anyway, I am much glad to find you I was thinking that I must attend your Christmas concert and ball, and what better way than to go as your escort."

"Sir, you should take your wife, not me, it would only be proper."

"My wife is very ill and not interested in the arts." He replied. "You however would make a wonderful guest. I am very interested in what you do at that school of yours." He was very close to her and he put his hand on the small of her back.

"Well I actually have a guest already, so I must decline, but I would still suggest you and your wife come. If she is up to it, it would be a nice changed from being stuck in that home of yours secluded from everyone except for yourself. However, I must go sir I am meeting some workers at my school right away." She smiled sweetly and hurried to the school.

She met the Chimney sweeps outside the school seconds later. They went to the ballet classroom and found that there was a bird's nest occupying the chimney. They were done quickly, and she asked them to clean her other chimneys. After that, she paid them and went to the staff meeting.

When she arrived to the room, she found Erik not there. He was going to be a nuisance for her.

"Hello everyone, how are you all today?" They all replied and she continued. "I called this meeting the other day to discuss the Christmas concert and what pieces everyone would be performing. In addition, I wanted to inform you that yesterday I found a new vocal instructor, I had told him to come, but he seems to have not made it in time. I came across him last night; he I assure you is very talented and will serve the purpose well." This happened to be when Erik decided to come in. The staff looked at him in silence. He was quite a sight they all thought in their minds. One teacher in particular was not even able to comprehend who was standing in the doorway. Elizabeth just smiled. "Everyone, this is Erik." She added quickly trying to make him more comfortable. "Erik, we were just discussing the pieces we will do for the Christmas show. You will not be able to pick your pieces, I assure you though, that Mr. Colvin has chosen a good selection that he showed me yesterday." He nodded. His eyes were now on the young blonde woman who still looked like she was in shock. She only turned her gaze away from him for two minutes to inform Elizabeth that her ballet students were going to perform select ballets from the nutcracker, which the band was going to play for them.

After the meeting Elizabeth, the blonde-haired woman, and Erik stayed in their seats. Elizabeth finally noticed the tension. "What is going on?" She asked.

"In had heard you were in London Meg," Erik said with a smile. "Your mother informed me."

"I was." She replied. "I had no idea you were teaching now."

"I've taught before, as you know."

"Yes, that did not go as well as it could have gone did it sir?"

"What is going on?" Elizabeth finally asked annoyed.

"I know Meg Giry from years ago."

"Giry is my maiden name; my name is Meg Hartford now."

"Yes, your mother mentioned that also."

After a brief silence, Elizabeth excused herself feeling awkward and left the two to talk.

What are you doing?" Meg asked. She was slightly terrified of him, but she also could not understand why he would be here. She had never seen him this clearly before and she probably would not have recognized the man if not for the mask which she had seen all those years ago.

"I decided it was time to continue with my life."

"Apparently, but do you really want to teach again. How did Elizabeth find you anyway?"

"I snuck in last night to use the organ, and you know that I make a good teacher, I can do wonders for the human voice." He would not speak her name.

"You also terrified her and probably caused permanent damage to her life."

"This is not something I want to talk about, I have gotten past that, and you of all people should understand that I do not want to relive these memories of my past."

"I understand, but you being here is still odd. I can not see you working with children; you have quite a temper if I do remember."

"Yes, but I am able to control it when I want to." He replied. "Now I must go, I have to go find out what pieces that inferior man has chosen for me to teach." He turned around and silently exited the room, his cloak trailing behind him.

Meg's first thought was to tell Elizabeth immediately, she had the right to know. However, she always felt for the poor phantom of the opera, she knew his life had been hard and maybe he had changed. She also recalled that Christine never said he had gotten angry with her as a student, maybe he did work well with children.

Erik was genuinely worried. The young Ballet instructor could go straight to his employer, tell Elizabeth of his past, and have him thrown out immediately. He would not have completely minded, but he also did not want people to know that the opera ghost was alive, and trying to be a teacher. Instead, though, he went to go find Elizabeth, he wanted to know where he was to go She had not given the best instructions to him. Not that if she did he would have listened, the woman was hard for him to deal with, and he had the same effect on her.

Erik found her after wandering around for a few minutes. She was in her office; he knocked politely.

"Yes?" She turned around to see who it was. "Oh, hello Erik, what is it you need? I know you know where your classroom is."

"I do, but I would like to know where I can find the musical pieces the man has chosen for me to teach."

"They are in your classroom. I know you don't want to teach the stuff he ahs chosen, but how can you expect a group of young children to forget five songs they have started, and learn five new ones when we have a concert in a week and a half on Christmas eve."

"It is that close?"

"Do you truly not know when Christmas is?"

"I know when Christmas is Elizabeth, I assure you, but I just wasn't thinking that I spoke too quickly. Something I find other people doing often." He gave her another gaze. The two were on a verge of a mental war of words. They were quickly beginning to hate each other.

"Why don't I show you to your room and go through the carols with you before your students are done breakfast and come to class." He nodded and followed closely behind her to the classroom he had been in the night before.

She walked over to a desk and picked up pieces of sheet music. He looked them over. If it had been anyone else he had been standing with, he would have admitted that the pieces were not bad. The titles Mr. Colvin had chosen were Silent Night, O Come all ye Faithful, The First Noel, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and Joy to the World. He walked over towards the organ and set Silent Night down. "Would you sing the ladies part for me Elizabeth?" He asked nicely. She nodded and came to stand behind him. They sang through the five songs and when the fifth was done, they had been silently joined by the students. They had not often heard Elizabeth sing and the man singing with her they had never met, but he sang really well.

The class applauded then sat down. Elizabeth smiled at them. "How are we all today?" She asked sweetly. They all chimed, 'good!'

"Who is that?" Caroline asked.

"That was quite rude Caroline, apologize."

"Sorry."

"However, this is your new vocal teacher. You may call him Erik…"

"We can't call him that, it is not proper to call a teacher by their first name."

"I assure you, you can." Erik replied calmly. "If you'd prefer, though, you may call me Mr. or Monsieur Erik."

"Well I'd like to stay guys, but you have class so I'd like for you to work on your songs with Erik now. He can play them very well and I suggest you be on your best behavior if you want to do well at your concert on Christmas Eve."

"Yes Miss Bennet." They chimed.

"Good luck." She whispered to Erik and winked as she left. She figured he'd be fine and they'd be good, but she wanted him to worry.


	6. Some Much Needed Tuning

Chapter 5 –

He watched Elizabeth leave the room. He did not worry about the students, even after Elizabeth and her little comment. He turned back to his students.

One boy in the back raised his hand. "Erik, why do you wear…?" Before he could finish, a girl next to him hit him and eyed him. "Never mind," he said.

Erik just nodded, knowing perfectly well what the boy was going to ask him. He was silent for a minute deciding what to do. Soon he decided he wanted to put a name to the faces in front of him. "When I point to you, I would like you to say your name, and what part you sing."

He pointed to a tiny girl in the front. "Emily Dulaurier, I'm a soprano."

Next Erik pointed to the boy sitting next to her. "Fredrick Henderson." Erik nodded.

He went one by one through all the students but skipped over the little diva of the class; she looked insulted, and immediately raised her hand. "Sir you forgot me." She said without him even acknowledging her.

He turned around her. "No, I already know your name from the comment you made earlier, Miss Caroline Henson." He turned around again, really wanting this girl to leave it be; she truly was a young Carlotta. "Now why don't we work on our songs? Which one would you like to do first?"

Everyone screamed out a different one. "All right, Julie, which one would you like to do first?"

She thought for a minute. "I'd like to do The First Noel."

"Good choice. Now why don't you organize yourselves into sections and we will do the First Noel."

They stood up quickly and organized themselves by the organ. Erik began to play and they sang it quite nicely. They ran through it two times then Erik stood up. "I'd like for you to sing it acapella so I can hear any mistakes from each student specifically."

While they sang, Erik listened. The biggest problem he kept hearing was Miss Caroline's voice trying to overpower everyone else's. "Miss Caroline, try and blend more with the other singers, your voice stands out too much." The rest of the class continued singing, but Caroline looked as if she were completely fuming. Everyone eyed her and waited for the song to end, because their new teacher was going to get the full extent of Caroline Henson.

The song ended and Caroline burst out. "Sir, you need to understand that I am the strongest signer in this class and it is not my fault they can't sing to my level. No other teacher has had a problem with the way that I sing, and I assure you that you are going to be the last. I have talent and you need to let me express it."

Erik resisted the urge to laugh but he took a deep breath and spoke slowly but commandingly. "I know I am not like any other of your teachers, I pride myself on that fact. In addition, I do not want you singing at that level because when you do, you strain your voice too much, and you take away from the nice singing from the rest of your soprano group. You have talent, yes, but your talent does not exceed that of the rest of the class. You think you are better than the rest, but I know that you are no better than the rest. I have dealt with diva types like you before and I do not stand for it in my students. You will not be treated any better than the rest of this class. If you did not always try to be the center of attention, you would be able to do much better. I know you could do because I have heard the likes of your voice in the Paris Opera house I once resided in. I would hate for you to ruin yourself with an attitude like the one you seem to be getting."

She looked at him in awe. No one had ever spoken to her like that, and she knew she could not rule this teacher as she had before. The only other person in the school who did not tolerate her actions was Miss Bennet, and Erik seemed to be the same type of person. She did not have a response and just nodded and let him continue the lesson.

"Now the other thing I had on my mind about this piece is how few altos we have in this class. I was also informed by Miss Bennet that we have one girl in particular that could be a very good alto, and in fact, I agree. Now, Julie—why do you insist on singing soprano?"

"I…uh…well I like it more than alto."

"Why?"

"I, I just do."

"Well, why don't we try you in alto for the week, then if you really truly hate it, then you can switch back." He came closer to her and whispered in her ear. "I promise that you won't get lonely, you'll only be a little ways away from your friend." He first wanted her to feel threatened but then he realized the effect he could have on her and he winked.

This was not a typical Erik moment, but he truly did not want the students to run to their precious Miss Bennet and tell her the new teacher scared them all. Julie just nodded and went to go stand by Jennifer and Aurora. "So, uh, Hattie, why don't you pick the next song we do? I think The First Noel is doing well for the time being, I am actually impressed with it even though you lacked proper teaching when you began them. Miss Caldwell?" He turned to the close friend of young Julie.

"Joy to the World. It has been in my head since we heard you and Miss Bennet singing it before class." She blushed a bit. Erik saw it, but he waved it off, silly little girls and theirs silly little minds. "It sounded amazing."

"Thank you, and good choice." He turned to the altos, "Please be kind and help Julie with the notes a little bit. If there is any trouble with her learning new notes before the concert, then I'll help her personally."

He was right, Julie felt awkward in the alto section, but when they sang it through the second time, she was more comfortable with it and she sounded much better there. The notes did not seem to be hard for her to sing as some of the higher soprano notes were.

"So how is my vocal class doing with my new teacher?" Elizabeth was able to come back in around ten o'clock, after going to the instrument room to reprimand the little boy who had conveniently left his lunch in the inside of his friend's instrument. He had unfortunately left his name on the bag.

"You are mistaken, Elizabeth, they are my vocal class." he replied with a smirk. Some of the girls began to whisper and giggle. The boys and little innocent Emily were completely oblivious, but the girls seemed to be convinced that there was a romantic connection between the two. Erik was oblivious to it because he was in fact just an overgrown little boy, but Elizabeth caught a few of the things they were saying.

"Oh, well, sir, would you please be kind to show me how your class is doing." She referred to him as sir, and the girls hushed down. Elizabeth noticed that Julie now stood with the altos and she knew she would be forced to compliment the man in front of her for it.

"Why, sure. Miss Bennet." He replied using her last name because she had used 'sir.' "We just finished working on Joy to the World, and we would be happy to sing it for you." The class all nodded at the opportunity to show their skills to Miss Bennet. The students adored her, except for perhaps Caroline who hated her at times. All the students seemed to love her, something Erik had noticed. He looked up to her for that, but she would never know that. He had never been adored by everyone around him; in fact, he had hardly been adored by any of the people who were around him. He hoped this place would be different for him, and somehow deep inside he knew it would be—if he could keep his real identity secret.

Leaving his thoughts he sat down at the organ and began playing. The students began to sing and all seemed to be going well. Finally, at the end of the song, Erik played the final chord of the piece and while Elizabeth applauded and the students looked proud, he was disgusted. There was something wrong with this organ and it annoyed him. It was not very well tuned and he wanted nothing more than to send the rest of the eleven people out of the room so he could properly tune it. The lack of proper teaching and upkeep of both the students and the organ he used was very plain to him.

Elizabeth decided to stay in the room to watch Erik interact with his new students for their first class. She had to admit, he was probably the best suited for the job they had ever had at the Academy. He may have been rude and arrogant to her, and probably mostly every other adult on earth, but he worked so well with these kids, and through music you could forgive him in an instant. This was definitely the man's gift.

After going through Silent Night, which was Jimmy's choice, the students broke for lunch. He would not see then for the rest of the day and he said he had enjoyed their first lesson. When all the students had left her turned to Elizabeth, "What is it, Miss Bennet? Do you just not trust me around your students? Or do you always intently watch every lesson?"

"I just wanted to see how you would do on your first lesson. I thought I would be kind and I'd drop in." She sighed then remembered her compliment for him. "Oh, I wanted to tell you, I am very happy to see that you were able to get Julie to try with the altos. She is very much better suited there. I have not been successful at that, I am impressed."

He at first was not expecting a compliment, but he soon responded with "See, I told you that you underestimated my talents."

"Sometimes, sir, I find you completely insufferable! I try to compliment you, but all you do is laugh it off, and be inconsiderate back. Do not expect me to compliment you again."

He was silent for a minute then he felt bad. "Well, I do have to compliment you in noticing that she was not suitable for the soprano section. Very few teachers would see how much she strains her voice in doing so."

"Do not think that just because you pay me a compliment, I will forgive you."

"I was not expecting forgiveness; I just thought I would give you the same courtesy you gave me, and, not to my surprise, you gave the same type of rude response I gave you. So now we are even in the rudeness to each other."

They stood in silence for a minute. "Would you like to come oversee lunch with me?" Elizabeth said finally.

"Actually I would like to spend the rest of my afternoon trying to get this organ up to top shape; it is still quite out of tune."

"Well, if you'd like to, you could also do the one in the theatre since in fact it is the one you will do performances on." She said sarcastically. "See you later today, Erik."

"Goodbye, mademoiselle." He turned to the organ and began his work.

He pulled the pieces apart for hours on the organ in his classroom until he was completely satisfied with the upkeep of his organ. It was now nearing the end of the day and he tidied up his classroom. Although he was never one for neatness, he did want a good working environment for the students.

After he was done that, he thought back to what Elizabeth had said during lunch, about the organ in the theatre and he decided that it was worth it. He wanted all the instruments he used to be in top shape, like the ones he used back in the Paris opera house, so he ventured through the halls back to the theatre he had passed earlier, and went in.

When he got inside, he found a small but also elegant auditorium. It was the perfect size for the school, enough seats for parents, as well as a few special guests.

He spotted the organ right away it was seated off to the side of the stage keeping the accompanist in the shadows while the students performed their talents. He slowly made his way up to it and looked it over, then played a few cords.

He soon deduced that this organ was not in as bad a shape as the one in the classroom, but it would still need some of his care because of the lack of actual time spent playing it.

He lost all track of time, and soon did not heard the quiet steps of his employer and landlord as she made her way down through the theatre. "You know, I was joking before when I said you could tune the theatre organ. Monsieur Erik."

"Yes, but when it comes to my music, I do not joke about it." He replied after hiding the fact that he was startled by her presence.

"Neither do I and that is why I have a professional come in before every concert to make sure the instruments we need are in proper condition."

"Well, now you have me to do free of charge, so you won't need to spend the extra cash for it. Do not worry. I am almost done; I shall get to the house soon. I will see you tomorrow at breakfast, if not tonight at dinner." He had no real intention of going to dinner as he was not hungry, but it was better that he should be polite while the two were at the academy. "Goodnight, _Elizabeth_."

"Goodnight, _Erik_."


	7. A Brief Break

**This chapter is LOOOOOONG do not expect all chapters to be this length, I just had a lot to write. In addition, Erik is very unlike Erik for a little bit at the end of the chapter, but it is just him showing his most often hidden gentlemanly side.**

Chapter 6 –

Elizabeth made her way home. Erik was beginning to be impossible for her to stand; she hoped he planned to move out soon, because she would not be able to take him for much longer. All day she had been thinking about the man, much her own dismay. Something about him worried her, and in truth, she had half visited the classroom today because she was a bit worried about him. He was completely different when he was around the students. He was rude and almost cruel when he was around only her, but he seemed to show this kindness when he was with her students, and that did ease her mind some.

She had been lost in her thoughts all the way home, and she found that she had gotten there much faster than she had guessed she would. She entered her home and was immediately greeted by one of her maids. "Good, you are home; your guest seems to be getting restless."

"Guest? Sorry Marie, but I did not know I was going to have guests today."

"Well, you have one anyway and Mr. Wilkinson is not a patient man."

"Oh no!" she outwardly groaned. "I can not stand that man at all; did he mention his reason for the visit?"

"No, he just said he wanted to see you. He is in the dining room." Elizabeth nodded and made her way to the dining room.

"Mr. Wilkinson what on earth are you doing here?" she asked sweetly.

"Oh, I wanted to come visit you tonight."

"Why would that be?"

"I enjoy your company."

"Thank you." She smiled then sat down. "Why don't we eat our dinner?"

He nodded in agreement. They ate mostly in silence and Elizabeth did not even try to find conversation topics. She wanted nothing more than for this man to leave and never return to her home.

After a dinner that he decided he wanted to drag out as long as possible, Roger and Elizabeth moved to the parlor for an after-dinner drink that Elizabeth needed very much. It was nearing eight o'clock now and she secretly wished there would be a distraction coming up soon.

After getting the drinks, Elizabeth sat down on the couch and Roger moved to sit closer to her. She was now cornered between him and the edge of the seat. "I would really suggest you take up my offer to go to your little concert with me."

"I told you, I already have a guest for the concert and I can not possibly let him down. Besides, your wife…"

"I told you, my dear, that she is ill. She even told me she would much prefer I go with someone else."

"Sorry, but that someone else won't be me. My guest would be crushed."

"Yes, you keep mentioning this guest of yours but you never once mention who it actually is. I would much like to meet the person who you would choose over myself."

"Mr. Wilkinson, I must protest the things you suggest. You are a married man and I am a respectable young woman and your personal affairs should not in any way concern me. If you'd like to go to my concert so much, then I'd suggest you either convince your wife or go alone."

A moment passed in silence, and even after the statement, Roger still refused to move away from her. He strongly believed that she would change her mind once he was able to convince her to bed him. He thought very highly of himself in that nature and now the only problem was trying to get this lady to go to that point with him. During this moment of silence, Erik chose to walk into the room. He first did not notice the two on the couch, but when he did, he tried to exit the room as fast as possible. The last thing he wanted to deal with was seeing Elizabeth with a suitor of hers, or whoever he was.

"Hello, Erik, how are you tonight? I trust you got the organ working to your liking." Elizabeth jumped up at the chance to have someone else in the room when she was with Roger Wilkinson. In the time since she met Erik she had never been happier that he was there than she did at that moment. Roger, on the other hand, was positively fuming when this man in a strange mask appeared during his private moment. Who was he and why did he roam freely around Elizabeth's home? "Mr. Roger Wilkinson, I'd like to introduce you to my new voice teacher at the school, Erik."

"It's wonderful to meet you, Erik. May I inquire what you need with your employer at this hour?" He said with a forced smile.

"Nothing, I do not need Elizabeth at all right now. I was just taking the most direct route to my room."

"You live here?" Roger asked completely surprised, and not caring that he had blurted it out.

Erik grinned at the chance to make this man upset with Elizabeth. "Oh yes, Elizabeth offered me a room here for as long as I chose to teach at her school." He looked over to Elizabeth and saw that she looked positively overjoyed, which was not the reaction he had thought he would get.

"Yes, Erik is very talented; I found him only yesterday and fell completely in love with his talents. The students have never had a better teacher." She was very pleased to see the miserable expression on Roger's face. This was something Erik noticed and found himself very intrigued by the situation, as he did not know why Elizabeth would be so pleased to see this man angry at her.

Finally, the mystery became too much for Erik and he decided he wanted to know the truth. " Elizabeth, would you please accompany me to the other room for a minute? I just thought of a very important matter that can not wait until later. You don't mind do you, sir?" He turned to the other man still sitting on the couch.

"Of course not, sir," Roger replied coldly.

Elizabeth happily left the room with Erik. "What is it?" she asked when Roger was out of earshot.

"I was just wondering a little more about the situation unfolding before me. Who is this Roger Wilkinson and why do you get so much pleasure from his obvious pain?"

"He is a married man who wants to sleep with me. He wishes for me to be his mistress, and at the present time he wants to take me to the concert at the school, instead of his wife."

"Rich men have mistresses all the time, and they take them out to social events often more than they take their own wives." Erik replied matter-of-factly.

"Could you really see me as a mistress to that man? In fact, any man? I positively despise him. Would you please keep me company until he leaves? I do not trust him alone with me. In fact, I don't trust myself not to scream at him at any moment I am alone with him."

"All right, I shall do you this favor." he replied, feeling sorry for the woman he was beginning to hate. He was disgusted when he saw other men force themselves upon young women. That was the main reason why he hated his actions with Christine.

The two returned to the parlor. Roger had not seemed to move from his seat, but Elizabeth noticed he had refilled his drink, so he must have moved after all.

"Anyway, I did not realize the time was so late, my dear, but I still must ask one more time if you will please accept my invitation to attend the concert."

"I've told you three times I am bringing a different guest."

"Who is it? Why won't you tell me who your guest is?" Roger exclaimed annoyed.

Elizabeth did not know what to say. She truly had no guest and she wanted to avoid going with Roger Wilkinson as much as possible.

Erik soon noticed the dilemma going on in Elizabeth's head and he sighed and replied for her. "She has not told you? Well, I asked her to go with me as my guest since I do not know many people in town. I am to be her escort for the night." Elizabeth looked at him in a mix of pleasure and horror; in fact, her expression was one that was very hard to read. She had now escaped going with a man she loathed, to going with a man she nearly hated.

Roger could not control his anger. "You are going with him?" He exclaimed he smashed his drink to the floor in front of Elizabeth, the red wine oozing all over the floor at her feet. "You would choose this man over me? This ugly masked man who looks to be barely above the poverty level? His outfit is nearly rags, for goodness sake! It must be that you prefer men like this. You prefer the kind of man to whom you must give a job so he has employment, the kind of man who you invite to live at your house because he has no other home. You are no more than a common whore aren't you? You could have a proper man like myself, but instead you choose poor men off the streets who you can control, don't you?"

Elizabeth was near tears at the accusations this man was making. Erik was furious. "I think, Mr. Wilkinson; it is time you leave this property."

"No I'd prefer to stay." he replied coldly at the man he believed inferior to him.

The angry was building up inside Erik. No man had ever spoken like this to his face. If he did not have Elizabeth standing next to him he probably would have grabbed the man by the head and broken his neck without feeling any remorse. He had killed for less than this before and he was not afraid to do it again. "That was not a request, sir, leave this house now." he commanded.

The man did not move, and it was too much for Erik. "GO THIS INSTANT!" he screamed. His voice was stronger and more commanding than any either of the other two occupants of the room had ever heard. Roger, who was now trembling, still would not move because of his pride. He was not going to be bossed around by some poor commoner. Erik grabbed the man and roughly forced him out of the house. "Do not get caught anywhere near Elizabeth, her school, or myself ever again!" Erik screamed at the man as he tried to regain his composure and get to his feet.

After calming himself down, Erik made his way back to the parlor. Elizabeth stood exactly where she was, the tears falling freely now. Erik's presence alerted her and she began to regain her composure and looked to the floor. "Oh, this will never come out, but I better get the glass cleaned up."

Erik just stood there. Why was she so afraid to show any other emotion other than anger in front of him? He wished they were close enough for him to just come up and wrap his arms around her and comfort her, make her feel better like a lost child, but he did not have the will to do that.

"I can clean it up, I have techniques for spilled wine, and you should just go and relax for a while." Erik offered.

"I can handle it, or one of my staff can do it…"

"Don't worry about it." He ushered her out of the room and they ran into Marie. The young maid was unsure of what had happened. She had heard the screaming but she did not know what had happened. Now all she knew was that the other guest was gone, her lady was in tears, and the man who now lived at the estate was positively furious. "Marie, please take her upstairs, she needs to relax, and she should get an early rest tonight, she had a horrible sleep last night." Marie nodded. She wondered about the man who just all of a sudden lived at the house, but she also feared him, not really knowing the reason why. She took Elizabeth upstairs and he watched as she went into her study rather than the bedroom. It was a little early for sleep.

The other maid employed there, Diana, was quick to send Erik out of the room so she could clean the mess up. He protested, but the old woman took pride in her job, and she told him firmly she could handle it.

Erik decided it was best to go up to his room, but he found no relaxation there. All he could do was pace and think about that man and Elizabeth. He hated Roger Wilkinson more than he hated most men on earth. He could only think of one other he hated more, and it was obvious who that was. Then he thought about Elizabeth. The proud, young, beautiful woman, who seemed to love life, being reduced to tears at the actions. He had to see if she was all right.

He hurried around the corridors of the second floor until he came to Elizabeth's study; he had been instructed not to intrude on her rooms, so he knocked first.

"Marie, not now, I just need some time alone. I'll get cleaned up later I promise."

"It is not Marie, and I do not care if you get cleaned up or not." Erik replied jokingly, trying to lighten the mood of the evening.

"Always the gentleman, right, Erik?" Elizabeth said as she reached the door. Her eyes were red and puffed; he knew she had been crying.

"Are you all right Elizabeth? It was a horrible ordeal…"

"He said horrible things about you, too." She argued.

"Yes, but I have heard worse said about myself, not directly though, but all the same, I recover from these things nicely." He smiled at her. "He had no right to say those things to you; you deserved none of it, and you were nothing more than generous to help a strange man who appeared in your life all of a sudden."

"Thank you, Erik. Sometimes you are actually worth the time I spend with you."

"Likewise Elizabeth, sometimes I am able to tolerate being around you, also." She shook her head and laughed lightly. "Now I insist you get some sleep; that man won't bother you anymore, and to be kind, I promise to be a little nicer to you when you deserve it." He took her hand and gave her a soft kiss on her hand, then turned to head back to his room.

"Erik?" Elizabeth called back to him. He looked back to her. "Thank you, for everything."

"No need to thank me, I did what was right and nothing more." She smiled and he turned to walk away again.

He got only two steps farther when Elizabeth called him again. "Erik?"

He turned to her and smiled. "Yes?"

"I know it's not proper, but would you mind staying in the bedroom next to mine tonight, just in case anything happens?"

"Nothing will happen, I promise." Her eyes were begging him. "But if you wish…" He turned around and headed for the bedroom that joined onto the master bedroom Elizabeth slept in.

When Elizabeth finally did decide to go to bed for the night, which was not for at least forty-five minutes later, she found the light under the door to Erik's room still on. She went over and almost opened it, but chose not to, in case he was doing something private. She knocked instead.

Erik was at the door instantly. "Is everything alright?" She just nodded.

"I was just wondering why you were still awake; you were very keen on me getting to sleep."

"I hardly ever sleep; it is not in my nature."

"No, that would only be normal." Elizabeth replied, annoyed, "and none of the things you do seem to be normal."

"Going by your judgments of normal, I assume?" He was a little annoyed. He had just promised the girl he would be nicer to her and she turned around and insulted his lifestyle. For this reason he added, "because the judgments of a thirty year old woman who owns a school, runs a household and seems to have absolutely no desire to marry, are completely normal."

"I guess I deserved that." Elizabeth stated.

"Yes, you did. Good night." Erik replied, and then closed the door in her face.

Elizabeth turned back to her bedroom and as she climbed into bed, she whispered to herself. "So comes and goes the brief break in our war." She blew out her candle and went to sleep.


	8. Found

Chapter 7 –

Elizabeth woke the next morning, remembering the events of the night before. She sat up in shock. Had she actually asked Erik to sleep in the room next to her? She sighed, knowing she had, and got out of bed.

After washing up, putting on her corset, and donning a clean dress, she slowly made her way downstairs. Erik sat at the table, as he had the morning before, but she refused to talk to him. Conversation was not what she wanted right at that moment, and apparently, he wanted the silence also. She poured her coffee, as she always did, then sat down. Marie brought her some breakfast. She was not really in the mood to eat, but she did anyway.

She quickly finished, then stood up. Erik looked to her. "Are you going to the school now?"

"Yes, I'd like to get some stuff organized for the concert next Friday." They stayed in their positions silently. "Do you think your students will be ready by the concert?"

"Yes, they have actually done very well without a proper teacher. They are all very talented."

She nodded. "I heard about what you said to Caroline yesterday."

"She can't keep acting like a young Carlotta Guidicelli; she needs to know that she will be more successful if she works hard, rather than if she tries to control everyone around her. I shall accompany you to the school today." He got up and walked with Elizabeth to the door.

As she walked with him, she thought about his comment. She knew Carlotta was a dive, but there had been other, more famous, divas in the past. Why had he chosen to compare Caroline to her? She caught him looking at her with a strange expression while they were walking. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"You're thinking about something."

"Yes, but why are you looking at me?" She asked again.

"You look very different when there is something on your mind." She gave him a glare and he added. "Not that that is a bad thing, you just seem much more focused than usual."

She just nodded in reply.

They reached the school, Erik headed for his classroom, and Elizabeth went to her office. Around seven-thirty, she had finished going through the list of guests who were coming to the concert. All the parents were to attend, as usual, and she saw that they would be able to fill the theatre, which would help with costs. The parents were able to get in free, but the special guests Elizabeth invited were expected to pay a fee to see the concert. The money went towards the trip the school took at the beginning of June.

She sat in silence, not knowing what to do. When she heard soft music coming from Erik's room, she decided she would go listen. As much as Erik annoyed her as a person, she did enjoy listening to him play very much. She stood in the doorway; he did not notice her standing there. The music continued and he began to sing along. She did not know what he was playing and she did not know the words, but she got lost in the music. He was amazing. She could not help but fall in love with the music, and she felt as if she could never be angry with him again.

Soon though, the music ended with a huge bang on the keys. Apparently, he was not happy with the song. The bang made her gasp and even though he did not turn around, he snapped at her. "What are you doing here?"

"It's my school, Erik."

"I don't care, it is my classroom, and I like my privacy, so leave." Instead of leaving, she walked closer to him.

"What were you playing?" she asked as she got right up behind him. She saw no sheet music in front of him; he was playing from memory. "It was very beautiful."

"It is a song I wrote, and it has a very private meaning, so I would kindly ask that you leave. I do not want you listening to everything I do."

She bowed her head and felt bad that she had imposed on a private moment, the memory of what ever it was seemed to hurt him. "Are you all right, Erik?" she finally asked boldly.

"Why would you ask that?"

"You sound upset." she replied, sounding braver than she was.

"I'm fine, I'm just angry that you would walk in and listen to me as often as you do."

"You don't sound angry. You sound almost sad." He still refused to look at her, so she moved closer. When she was right next to her, she saw the unmasked, handsome side of his face. He had been crying. "Oh Erik, what's wrong?" She sat beside him on the bench and put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine." He yelled and pushed her away. She fell to the floor. She stared up at him terrified; no man had ever put his hands on her before. He realized what he had done afterward, and he turned away from her, disgusted at himself.

Elizabeth got up as soon as the shock had gone away. "No, do not turn away from me!" she screamed. "You have the strength to strike me, then you turn away in shame. No, you are not getting away that easy! How can I trust you to teach my students when you hit me, but you also act like an emotional wreck around me? How do you expect me to trust you when you act completely differently every five minutes?"

"I don't know." he replied as he turned back to her. He sounded completely lost. "I just can't seem to get my head straight when I am around you. I do not understand what I am doing when I am around you. You annoy me, but I can't seem to spend more than a couple of hours away from you. I love teaching these kids. It has been six years since I've been that happy. I felt alive again yesterday; you don't understand what I'm running from. I am terrified that what I've done before will catch up with me." He ranted for a few minutes, not noticing his slip.

"What have you done, Erik?" Elizabeth asked. "What is it you are running from?"

He couldn't tell her, and he knew it. If he told her then he would surely be sent away again, he would not be able to teach again, he would be caught, and he'd be hung. "I can't say."

"Tell me, or I shall fire you right now. I fear for the safety of my students."

"I can't tell you, Elizabeth. You need to believe me when I say that telling you would cause more problems for your school than firing me. Maybe it is for the best. I'll go." He headed for the door, and she looked at him in shock again.

"Get back in here, Erik!" she commanded. "I won't pry anymore, but you have to learn to control your emotions when you are here. Even if you only lose your temper with me, you have to. If a student or another teacher saw what had just happened, it would be horrible. You can scream and yell at me all you want at home, but here you need to stay calm, because I can't control my temper if you don't."

It was now eight o'clock, and Erik still had tears running freely down his cheeks. "Erik, the students are going to be here any minute, I need you to stop crying, and you need to calm down. They can't see you crying." He nodded.

"Just keep them out of the room for a minute." She nodded.

Elizabeth left the room and found the students right outside the door. "Hello, how are you today?"

They all replied wondering what was going on, and why they couldn't go into their classroom. "Okay, how about we take a walk; Erik is just tidying up the room. He made a huge mess a few minutes ago and he wants things to be organized."

They walked down the hall whispering. "So how would you guys feel about having a new student after winter break? His family lives in America right now, but they are moving back to Europe. He is very young, only Emily's age, but I've been told he is very talented. He will help to balance the men's section from the ladies' section. How do you guys feel about that?"

"I think it will be good." replied Jimmy. "Because we always have to sing much louder than the girls to be heard."

Soon they headed back for the room and Erik greeted them at the door. "Room all clean now?" Elizabeth asked hoping he would catch on.

"Yes, I have a surprise for you all. I finally have the organ perfect. All afternoon yesterday I tuned it, and I had left a mess all over the classroom, so I wanted it clean for you."

"But Miss Bennet just said you had made the mess today."

"Never mind. Now get to singing, I want you in top shape for the concert."

Things at the Christopher Bennet Academy of Fine Arts were uneventful for the rest of the week. Erik spent the weekend in his room, hardly advertising his presence, and Elizabeth spent the weekend trying to organize things for the concert.

Because of the concert, Elizabeth was very hard to find during the next week. She hardly had the time to come visit the different classrooms. On the Friday of the show, the entire day was spent in dress rehearsal. Elizabeth was happy to get to hear the vocal students. They sounded amazing, and she needed to remember to congratulate Erik on his success as a teacher.

This afternoon also happened to be the day that the new boy and his family chose to see the school. They were going to attend the show that night, and they wanted to tour the school that day.

Meg Hartford stood outside Elizabeth's office gathering some things she needed for her students that night. She thought she was alone, but she was surprised to feel someone cover her eyes from behind.

"Guess who?" The woman's voice said behind her. She removed her hand. Meg turned around to find Christine de Changy standing with her husband, and, Meg assumed, their son.

She was in shock. She was glad to see her friend again, but that thought was overpowered by the knowledge of Erik's presence here at the school. "What are you doing here? I'm amazed!"

"This is my son Andrew; he is going to be attending school here to study voice." Christine said sweetly. "Miss Bennet has found a proper vocal teacher by now, hasn't she?"

"Uh, yes, the man she's chosen is very suited for the job." Meg replied, very afraid of what could happen.

"What's wrong, Meg?" Christine wondered why Meg looked so pale and terrified.

"I'm just in shock. Would you like me to go get Elizabeth from the rehearsal?"

"That would be nice, thank…" She was cut off by the sound of papers falling to the floor around the corner from them.

Meg saw the Christmas carols on the floor, and she knew that Erik had seen. "Come with me, we must go to the theatre."

She raced the family to the theatre, the little boy and his mom having trouble keeping up. Meg burst into the room during one of the band pieces, catching Elizabeth's attention. She hurried to them and was very pleased to see the family.

"I know we had a meeting after the winter break, but we had some time now, and we wondered if you had the time to meet with us now." Christine said smiling. Elizabeth smiled back, but she wondered what was going on, as her ballet instructor looked as if she was going to be sick.

"Sure, and if I can, I'll locate our vocal teacher. He is amazing; the students love him."

Erik had now closed himself in his classroom. She was here. His Christine was at the school. They were the family coming from America. She was now in his reach; he had his Christine back. Why was fate this cruel to him? Just as he was getting on with the only life he was offered, she came back. He didn't know what he wanted. She had been gone for six years. He had spent the majority of that time wishing he could have her back, and now she was right there. Even if he was able to control himself and not succumb to the desire he had for her, he would be found, and then he would be arrested and eventually hung.

He heard footsteps coming down the hall, and then he heard the sweet voice of Christine asking something. He couldn't understand what it was.

Then he heard Elizabeth's reply. "This is the vocal room; our vocal teacher is most likely inside. He has a way of making his presence unknown. He's probably trying to avoid the chaos in the theatre." The older woman replied, with a laugh in her voice.

He saw the doorknob move and this was it: he was found.


	9. A Different Side of Erik

This chapter goes out to my amazing new beta...the excellent Gevaisia...Thank you soooo much, you are great. What would I do without you?

Chapter 8 –

Erik felt physically sick. He didn't know what was making him feel worse: seeing his Christine again, knowing he gave her up, or knowing that in seconds he would be found.

"Miss Bennet! Miss Bennet!" screamed a young voice down the hall. The doorknob stopped turning and Erik had an ounce of hope.

"What is it Fredrick?" Elizabeth asked.

"It's Mrs. Hartford, she's fainted!" Fredrick replied.

"What? Oh no! Come, we must go see if Meg is alright." Elizabeth said. Erik heard the movement of shoes, and they were gone.

Erik got an idea to save himself, he peeked out the door and found only little Fredrick trying to catch his breath. "Fredrick, are you alright?" he asked calmly.

"Yes, I just need to catch my breath sir."

"Alright. When you do, could you please deliver a message to Miss Bennet for me?" The boy looked at him horrified. "Don't worry. You won't have to run, you can walk." Erik added with a smile. Fredrick's face lightened and he smiled.

"Alright, you must tell her exactly as I tell you to. Tell Miss Bennet that the vocal teacher was not feeling well and he had to go home. You got it."

"Yes, I'll say that Mr. Erik wasn't feeling…"

"Please don't use my name okay?" Fredrick nodded confused. "Alright, I'll see you later, Fredrick." He nodded.

When Erik was halfway down the hall, Fredrick added, "You are going to be well enough for the concert right sir?" Erik saw the look of pleading on the young boy's face and he knew he could not betray him. He had planned on running, but he just couldn't let his students down. He had begun to care for them so much in the short time he had been there.

"Yes, I'll be there." Erik replied, and then hurried down the hall.

Fredrick went back to Miss Bennet and gave her the message.

"He doesn't feel well?" Elizabeth said annoyed. "Is he going to be back tonight?" Fredrick nodded with a smile.

Elizabeth turned to her guests and apologized. They didn't mind though, as they knew they'd see him that night.

Erik was at the house pacing around his room. He still could leave, he thought, but he couldn't leave his students. They meant too much to him. It would crush Elizabeth too, and as much as he hated to admit it, she did not deserve that. It seemed like only seconds since he had gotten back to the house lost in thought, but soon he heard the voice of Elizabeth from downstairs.

"Where is he?" She screamed angrily and hurried up the stairs. Her damn maids must have given him away. She burst into the room and found Erik standing there.

"You know, I could have been doing something private."

"I don't care! Why the hell did you leave, Erik?" She bellowed at him. He had never heard her swear before and she was almost intimidating when she did it. Not to him though, he was intimidated by very little. "Meg passed out, the instrument teachers were off in the classroom doing last minute tuning, I was trying to tour the new family around the school, but instead I ended up watched 50 bored students. I love those kids, but I cannot handle them all myself."

"I had to go." He tried to reply calmly. She would not understand.

"Had to go, had to go he says. Erik, I needed you there today. Why is it that when I need you, you never seem to be there, but when I'd prefer to be alone, you are right there?"

"Sorry to inform you, but that's the way life is."

"You don't seem very ill, Erik. Why did you really leave?"

"That is none of your…"

"Yes, it is my business! What are you hiding from me? I know you don't want to tell me, but you have to. What is so wrong?"

"You have to understand, my past includes Christine de Changy and her husband."

"What can your past have to do with them?" She spoke slowly as she thought to herself. Then the expression Erik had seen many times appeared on her face. "You're…You…The…"

"Yes, the Phantom of the Opera!" He yelled back at her. Elizabeth dropped her head. She didn't know what to feel. She felt betrayed, she was mad at herself for letting this man near her students, she hated him, and she was frightened by it all. He could easily kill her right there. "See why I didn't tell you?" He added sharply.

"Why would you do that? Why would you come here and work with MY students? What the hell was going through your head, Erik?" She screamed in disbelief.

"I wanted to get away from it, I told you. Now don't worry, before you call the police, or whoever you plan on calling I'll be gone." She watched him leave.

Less than three hours later Elizabeth stood in front of the small group of vocal students ready to tell them the news. She was still very shaken up from what had happened.

"What's wrong, Miss Bennet?" Aurora asked worried. The students at the school were all very confused. One of their teachers had fainted this afternoon, another had disappeared altogether, and Miss Bennet was looking very pale and shaking.

"I'm sorry guys, but Mr. Colvin is going to have to play for you tonight."

"What? Why? Where is Mr. Erik?" They all began to scream at their own time.

"Calm down. calm down, children." Elizabeth started; the students began to be quiet again. "Erik can't accompany you tonight, and he has resigned as your teacher for good. I'll try to find you a new teacher over the break, I promise. I'm so sorry, I know how you all enjoyed his teaching; he just can't teach you anymore."

"Why can't he?" Andrew Billings asked. "Why did he leave? Why don't you or the other teachers tell us anything? I know something was going on today, everything was strange. Why don't you tell us anything?"

"I'm sorry, I can't tell…"

"Yes, you can. You can tell us. You just won't. We want to know. It affects us more than it affects anyone; you owe it to us to tell us why." Hattie replied angrily. All the students were upset, even Caroline, as much as she didn't like Erik; she hated even more having to go back to Mr. Colvin.

"I had to let Erik go."

"You sent him away?" Emily cried, she was not much for talking, but she was upset now. "Why did you send him away? What did he do that was so bad?" The little girl was crying by now, and so were some of the other younger girls. Everyone else was a mixture of anger and sadness.

"He did something really bad before he came here and I felt that it was unsafe for him to be here. That is all I can tell you." Elizabeth was so hurt to see the expressions on their faces.

"But Erik was the best teacher we ever had!" Jimmy yelled pouting. "I'm not going to sing tonight if he doesn't come back."

"Me either." They all eventually said.

"Please students, you have to understand. I couldn't let him stay." Elizabeth replied almost ready to cry.

"I bet that's a lie." Brianna Carlson said angrily. She was a little older than some of the other students. She was twelve and this was her last year at the school. "He probably did something to you! We've all seen the way you act together; you act like a couple. I've seen it, my mum and dad are the same. He never did anything that bothered us. We don't care what he did before he came here. You only sent him away because it bothered you. Don't pretend like you thought about what we wanted! If you had, he'd still be here." Her voice had gotten louder and louder, it had now attracted the attention of the whole room. "Have a good concert; you'll have to cut all the singing pieces out, and we don't care."

She walked passed her teacher and all the students followed. Little Fredrick was the last to go. He loved Miss Bennet, but he wanted Erik back just as much as the rest of them.

The students headed for their rooms, but Caroline lived in the town so she decided she'd walk home. It was dark and cold outside and she was wearing her concert outfit, so she was freezing, but her home was only down the street. It had begun to snow earlier that day and the streets were almost empty.

Erik had decided he wanted to see the results of his students. He knew he shouldn't, but he wanted to see them sing.

As soon as he walked in, he decided to hide out in his classroom. On the way he heard Elizabeth talking to Mr. Colvin. "No, I just don't know what to do. They refuse to sing, and they've actually left. We have to make due with just instrument and ballet."

"Why don't you just get Erik back?"

"I can't. I can't tell you why either, I just can't." Erik realized she was crying. She should be, he thought. She had made his life miserable and he didn't care anymore. She deserved it.

Erik continued on his way to the classroom. Then he thought about what was going on. The kids weren't going to sing because he wouldn't be there. They cared for him that much that they would do that to their beloved Miss Bennet. He knew what he had to do. He had to go find one of his students.

He didn't have to look long. He found Fredrick's bedroom and the rest of the class, except for Emily and Caroline, were in it. They all looked hopeful and happy to see him.

"Are you going to play for us, Mr. Erik?" Aurora asked.

"I am not allowed. I know Miss Bennet told you that."

"Please?" They all pleaded. He didn't want to disappoint them, but he couldn't do anything. He just shook his head.

"All I want is to see you guys sing tonight. Would you do that for me?"

"Well, Caroline went home already." They replied.

"She went home?" Erik asked alarmed. They nodded. "It's freezing out, she wasn't still in her costume, was she?" no one knew. "Are her parents home?"

"No. They are here already." Julie answered.

"Alright, I want you guys to go down, find Miss Bennet and tell her that Caroline is gone, and that you guys want to sing tonight. Do it for me, alright?" They all reluctantly nodded.

Erik rushed down the halls not caring where he was going. When he had walked here a few minutes ago, he had been freezing and he was fully clothed. Poor Caroline was in her thin little costume. He hoped that she had thought to change.

Erik didn't notice that straight ahead of him stood Elizabeth. He ran straight into her.

"You! What are you still doing here Erik? I told you to leave!" She screamed at him. "I don not want to deal with you right now. I have enough problems."

"I assure you, I am not here to make you deal with me. I wanted to hear my students sing, but that, my dear, is not important right now." From behind him, Erik heard a scream. The voice was very familiar and it was followed by the voice of a little boy.

"Mummy, are you alright?" The little voice asked.

Then another voice called out "Christine, what happened?" Erik finally dared to turn around. His gaze was met with that of a furious Raoul de Chagny. The young man stood up and looked at Erik in a mixture of hate and bewilderment. How could the phantom be here then? How could the monster have survived? "What are you doing here? Never mind! I don't care. I am, however, going to kill you now, like I should have six years ago in the graveyard." The man sounded slightly crazy and his words hardly made sense to anyone except him.

"Mr. de Chagny calm down." Elizabeth pleaded; she could sense what was going to happen. "You are not going to do anything in my school. If you plan to attack and kill Erik, I would suggest you take your fight outside in the freezing cold. If that is not to your liking, then tend to your wife."

Erik's mind cleared and he remembered what he had been doing. He rushed passed the fainted Christine, not stopping for a second to see if his angel was all right. He needed to find his student; she could be outside, in the freezing cold.

He got outside and headed the direction of the Henson home. He made it there in record time. The butler answered and Erik asked if young Caroline had made it home already. The old man looked confused and told Erik that she was at the school still.

He didn't wait to hear the rest of what the man had to say. He made his way back toward the school, looking any sign of the little girl. About halfway back, he saw a dark figure in the snow. How had he missed it on his way to the home? There she lay, purple from cold. She was still breathing, very scarcely, but she was alive. He decided to take her to the school instead of back to the house.

He learned right away that she had not changed her clothes and instinctively he wrapped his cloak around her shivering body. Then he ran for the academy.

The guests had begun to arrive, dressed in their finest winter clothes. Erik pushed through them, demanding they get out of his way. He got her into the school, and as he made his way to the ballet room where he knew the fire was on, he ran into Raoul, Elizabeth and Christine.


	10. Resolutions For now

Chapter 9 –

"What have you done to her?" Raoul de Changy demanded, looking at Erik is disbelief. "She's only a child, you monster!"

"Erik what happened?" Elizabeth cried as she ran to the limp little girl. "What did you do?"

Christine sat in silence, holding onto her son as if she was scared of what the man in front of her would do to him. The little boy looked confused out of his mind. He had no idea who the man in the mask was, and why his mother and father were acting so differently then they usually did.

"_I did not do anything!_" He yelled. He expected that reaction from Christine and the boy, but not from Elizabeth. "If anything, this is _your_ fault! _You_ told the kids I would not be playing with them. _You_ fired me. _You_ caused them to refuse to sing, so I assure you it is not _my_ fault that she tried to walk home in the freezing cold, Miss Bennet!"

"She tried to walk home?" Elizabeth asked, completely shocked. "Is she okay? She's going to be okay—right Erik?" She began to tremble.

"She is still breathing and she's out of the cold now so I think she will be alright. Are you done blaming me now? Can I please take Caroline to a room where the fireplace is going?"

"Yes, yes. Madam, Sir, enjoy the show, I shall see you later."

The Vicomte and his wife stood in disbelief. How could a respectable woman like Elizabeth Bennet be involved with the Phantom?

"I think we should leave Christine." Raoul said to his wife.

"I want to know what is going on here." Christine replied.

"And what, give him the chance to take you again? Christine, he would not do what he did for you last time."

"He does not seem to want me anymore, Raoul."

"I do not care. Christine we have no reason to want to be here anymore. My son is not going to be taught by that… that monster." Raoul was astonished at the way his wife was acting. She looked at him angrily. Raoul looked from his wife to their son, who looked very confused. He came close to her ears and whispered to his wife. "Christine, he wanted to kill me and take you forever. How can you possibly want to stay here—and let our child stay here?"

"What is going on here?" The stubborn little boy in front of them screamed.

"Andrew this is none of your business, we need to go though."

"NO! I want to stay here. I talked to all the other vocal kids this afternoon. They said that they love—Mr. Erik, I think his name was. I want a good teacher too. You promised me that if there was a good teacher here, I could be taught by them!"

"He is not a good teacher Andrew, and you will not be taught by him." The Vicomte yelled at his son. The little boy stepped back as close to the wall as he could.

"Raoul!" Christine screamed and went to her son's side. "You're scaring him."

"Good, cause this whole situation is scaring me." Raoul yelled back at his wife.

"Let me speak to him. He won't do anything, I can promise you that! He is at a school, one he does not know every secret about, and he saved that little girl. He seems different."

"Men like that don't change."

"Let me speak to him Raoul… alone. Please."

He looked at her, and he knew that she needed this assurance. It scared him what could happen, but she needed this. He nodded. She nodded back, and she walked down the hall toward the vocal classroom. Raoul moved closer to his son, hugged the child and kept him close.

Christine went to Erik's classroom and couldn't find him. She headed farther down the hallway and found Elizabeth pacing outside. Christine approached her slowly. Tears ran down Elizabeth's face freely. "Is the girl all right?" she asked.

"I don't know, Erik told me to wait outside."

"May I go in?" Christine asked. Elizabeth nodded and let the girl in.

She saw Erik sitting next to the girl, who was curled up in his cloak and a few other blankets. He heard her. "Elizabeth, I told you that you were getting too worked up, she will be all right, just go sit outside."

Christine stayed quiet. She couldn't speak to this man; he had such a power over her, and she was still terrified of it.

He turned around and his mouth dropped open. He began to laugh. "Your precious husband let you leave him for two minutes?"

"I needed to speak to you."

"I have spent the last six years trying to get that thought out of my mind; all I've wanted is to get past the things that happened that night. I found that here, I found something that I've wanted. I loved being your teacher. I've always wanted to pass my gift on to other people. You and your husband made that impossible for me. I love you, Christine, and I always will, but I can't talk to you now. You have taken both chances of happiness away from me. I let you go, and I'll live with that, but you will have to live with the fact that you've made me miserable twice. You've taken away everything I've had, in both Paris and here. Now, is that what you wanted to hear?" He looked at her with venom in his eyes, but also with a hint of sadness, after everything, he still loved her with everything in his heart.

"You know I did not want to take everything away from you, but you were going to take everything away from me. You would have killed Raoul, Erik, I love him, and you were going to kill him. You would have taken it all from me."

"But I didn't. I let you go. Now that's all I want. I want you to go. I will never touch you or your husband ever again, but I want you to go. Leave my life and leave me alone. I want happiness. I let you have that, Christine; will you do the same for me?"

"All I want is for you to be happy, Erik. If this makes you truly happy I will leave and never take that away from you, but I can't believe you."

"Why not?" He snapped back at her. "Why do you not believe I can be happy here?"

"I just have a feeling. Erik, I know you. You won't be happy here."

"Well I'm sorry, my dear, but you are already wrong, I am happy here. Now I'll ask you to leave. The concert should begin within a few minutes, so you, your husband, and your son should either find your seats or leave."

"Erik…"

"Go! Christine go! You don't understand, you never will. As much as I might feel like there isn't, there is life after you, and it is here."

She looked a little shocked, but when Erik turned back to the little girl, Christine left. She was confused. This man still loved her, and for this reason, she could not believe that he would be forever happy here. At the same time, she longed to have her son receive the amazing teaching she had received. As much as Raoul tried to deny it, she did owe her talent to Erik. He gave her the voice she now possessed.

Erik felt tears in his eyes. He had done what he had hoped he could do all day. He was able to give her up again. He could let her go.

"Who is she?" asked a quiet whisper in front of him.

Erik looked down to Caroline, she had regained some of her usual colour, and she was looking to better. "Someone I thought was gone from my life a long time ago." Erik replied. "How are you feeling?"

"She hurt you, didn't she? You love her too." He just nodded. "And I feel better, thank you, sir, for saving me." He nodded again. Caroline Henson was the last person he thought he'd be saying these things to. "So you aren't in love with Miss Bennett?"

"No, Elizabeth and I can barely stand to be around each other for longer than a few minutes. We fight too much."

"Then you shouldn't live together." Erik laughed a bit. The tears Christine had left him with still stung his eyes, but this girl he had instantly hated seemed to calm him and make him want to laugh.

There was a knock at the door Erik opened it and found his vocal class standing there with Elizabeth. All of them had been crying. "She's all right, don't worry."

Caroline sat up and smiled at her classmates. "Mr. Erik saved me."

The students crowded around her and she told them what had happened. Erik stepped over to Elizabeth. "Do her parents know?" He asked.

"They aren't here. They said they'd be here, but I can't find them." She didn't know what else to say. "The de Chagnys didn't leave. The Victomess convinced her husband to stay." Erik just nodded. They stood in silence and listened to the kids talk near the fire. Finally, Elizabeth looked to Erik and said what had been on her mind since he had turned up almost a half an hour ago. "Erik, thank you." He just smiled. "You don't understand how much I owe you now. If I lost another child that I cared for as much as I care for my students, I don't know what I'd do."

"Another?" Erik wondered aloud. She just nodded. Erik took a deep breath and turned toward the students. "Okay, I came here tonight to see you sing. Now get yourselves down to the theatre, and get prepared. I expect your best."

"But we can't do our best without you," Emily said with a frown.

"You won't have to. Erik, if you wish to stay, this job is still yours." Elizabeth added. She had seen how everyone reacted to him. They needed Erik as much as he needed them.

"Then it seems we have a show to put on. Caroline, you may have my ticket, and watch us, but I am sorry, dear, you are not well enough to sing. Next time, I promise." The girl nodded, knowing he was right.

Erik led his students down the hall and he knew this was right. As much as he had been tempted by Christine's appearance here, he could not have her, and he would not leave these kids. They gave him a chance at life he had always wanted. They did not judge him for his mask; they did not see him as a monster. They trusted him, cared for him, and he cared for them the way he used to care for Christine when she was a child. He did not know what it was exactly that made him need to be around them, but these children gave him a reason for life.

When they reached backstage, little Emily gave him a big hug. "I'm glad you're back, Mr. Erik. We need you."

He bent down to her eye level "You do not need me; you are amazing, talented, young children without me. I am just here to keep you on the right track. The rest is all you." She smiled and kissed him on his unmasked cheek, smiled again, then joined her classmates. Erik did not move for a few seconds. This was one of the few signs of affection he had ever been shown. The little girl gave him something he had always desired; and now when he was not looking for it, he was given it without a second thought.

Elizabeth saw his moment of thought and wondered back to what she did not know of this man. He seemed to show no emotion most of the time, but for some odd reason, this day had brought out many emotional sides of him.

After one of the most eventful days the school had seen, it was time for the concert to start. Elizabeth checked to see that she looked presentable. She took one last glance at the performers back stage. Her eyes lingered on Erik for a spilt second longer than anyone else. She knew that everything would be okay. She put on a smile, and walked out to greet the audience.


	11. After the Storm

Chapter 10 –

The Band was to open up the concert, and the singers were to join them after their first number. All the students were very anxious. Erik stood with them. He had only once ever helped to perform, and that experience went less than amazingly. Here, he wasn't able to contain his excitement. Everything was going to be all right. He was going to be able to stay.

He was still in shock over his confrontation with Christine. He had spent years loving her and now he could have had her. He had spent the last six years wanting to have her again, to take her away from the boy, and he felt the same now as he did that night in the opera house. He did not want to force her to be his; she had chosen the boy and now he, Erik, had to live with it.

Christine and her husband sat in the audience, Raoul was outraged that they were staying. He could not believe his wife when she said that Erik was not going to plan an attack. Raoul sat in between his wife and son and refused to take his arms off Christine. He had almost lost her once and it wouldn't happen again.

Elizabeth appeared on stage and the audience hushed. "Good evening, Guests! I am sorry for the delay tonight. We were having some difficulties with our performers. I now would like to thank you all for coming and buying tickets. Our school is kept up to the high standards we have because of all the help we have from our guests and supporters like you. I don't plan to keep you away from our talented performers any longer, so I would like to introduce our Instrumental conductors, Mr. Colvin and Mr. Jacobs." The audience clapped and the two men appeared on stage.

Elizabeth walked toward the right wing of the stage she got to the back and she found the vocal students standing ready to go on. "Good luck." She said to them all. "You'll do great… all of you." She winked at Erik. She always knew how to make him nervous; annoying him seemed to be a big joke to her. Instead, he just smiled.

The band finished and Erik lead his students on stage. The first song they were to sing was _Hark the Herald Angels Sing_ and Erik was so proud of them. He did, however, feel the loss of Caroline. She had begun to sing more quietly and to fit in better with the group. She still thought of herself as better than everyone else, but she had begun to be humble about it.

At the end of the night, the entire school ended the program with _Silent Night_. The band played it, the vocal students sang it, and Meg's students had a dance to go along with it. The audience applauded and the students bowed in awe of the attention they were getting. Erik couldn't help but smile.

Once backstage, the students all went to their dressing rooms and hurried to get ready for the party afterwards. Erik didn't need to change; he was still wearing what he would normally wear if he had been attending the show. Elizabeth was the same; she stood watching as the guests got up and headed for the main foyer of the school. He saw her curse under her breath as he approached her. "You shouldn't swear, it's not proper for a woman. What's wrong?"

She jumped but then sighed knowing it was Erik. "My good friend Roger Wilkinson is here." she replied, annoyed.

"He's what? I told him not to come near you or your school ever again."

"Erik, it's fine, don't make a scene in public."

"I will be civil if he is."

"He's never civil, but he did bring his wife so he should be better than usual."

"He better be."

She shook her head at him. "Don't worry Erik, I've been dealing with him for a while now. It will be fine." He clenched his teeth but was ready to deal with it.

"I guess I can just never win, can I? Now I'm stuck with that man all evening and I have to act as your escort."

"Sorry for being an obligation for you." she replied quickly, half smiling.

Half an hour later, the two entered the party. The de Changy's were going to make an appearance because some of the upper class British families had heard they were here. Christine was surprised to see Erik walk in, arm in arm with Elizabeth, and for a split second, she was angered about it. She didn't know what was going on. Erik had confessed his love for her and now he was with another woman. It didn't make sense to her, but she kept quiet. She was not stupid enough to make such a comment in front of her husband.

The students, one by one, came to introduce their parents to Erik. The parents gave him a second look but he ignored it as best he could. Elizabeth smiled and talked nicely to everyone, and Erik stood by her side. He was definitely not a fan of the social gatherings Elizabeth held at her school, but it was a small price to pay because he would be able to keep his job.

He soon was visited by Caroline, who gave him a big hug. "You guys were great, everyone loved it!" She screamed happily. "Of course if I was there it would be better." Erik didn't comment. "So are you staying for sure, now?"

"Yes, I'm staying for sure. But you should calm down and go back to the ballet classroom. You should rest for the evening until you have someone come to pick you up."

"My parents didn't come?"

"I'm sure they had somewhere to be, Caroline." Elizabeth cut in. "They wouldn't want to miss you sing."

She just nodded. "Well I'm going to go congratulate everyone else." she said, and ran off.

Elizabeth and Erik exchanged glances. They felt sorry for her.

Soon, all the parents had given their congratulations to Elizabeth and her school. Then the members of the town gave theirs. Mr. Wilkinson, without his wife, approached them and Erik immediately tensed up. Elizabeth squeezed Erik's arm which she was politely holding. He gave her an angry look, but she gave him an equally stern gaze.

"Good evening Elizabeth." he said properly. He would not acknowledge Erik. Erik knew the man was trying to look tougher than he was.

"Good evening." she replied, her face remaining unreadable.

"You put on a very enjoyable show tonight."

"I always do, sir. I see you brought your wife tonight; she was feeling up to it, I see."

"Yes, we probably won't stay long though. I'm sure she's pretty tired."

"I'm sure." Elizabeth put on her best smirk. "Well, I've got other guests I need to see. Good-bye."

She turned away immediately, and Erik smirked at the man, then turned around and followed Elizabeth. He was sick of the crowds and people, but he decided that he owed this to Elizabeth and her school.

After hours of talking to numerous people from everywhere, Erik finally had enough. "Can we go now?" He asked like a child.

"After everyone leaves, Erik, but you can go and hide out in your classroom if you'd like."

"Good," he replied and silently slipped away.

After she had escorted the last guests to the door Elizabeth headed to Erik's room, she heard music playing behind the door and she stood outside the door listening to it. The melody was one she had not heard before, but she decided that as a composer, Erik might want to play his own music occasionally. The music stopped abruptly, but Elizabeth decided not to go inside just yet.

Erik seemed though, to want her inside. "It is impolite to linger behind the doors of people's rooms." he called to her.

She shook her head and entered the room. "Ready to go?" she asked.

"I was ready long before the party started."

"I know, you want to do the fun part, and then skip out on the part you despise. That's human nature, Erik." He just looked at her, shook his head, and followed.

When they got home, Elizabeth wasn't tired. She wanted to stay up, and she was very excited about how great the evening had been. Erik, who never was tired, agreed to stay up with her for a while.

After sitting in silence Elizabeth finally spoke up about what was on both their minds. "Erik, I think we need to talk about everything from whatever happened with Christine up until to now. I think I need to understand this better, because even though I'm still going to let you teach, I just need to know."

"It is probably one of the longest most confusing stories ever. My entire life was always that way…long and confusing. Do you know the tales of the so-called Opera Ghost?"

"Mrs. Hartford, Meg, told me a bunch. I think you terrified her."

"Yes, the ballet rats were always afraid of me, but I'll continue. I met Christine as a child and taught her to sing. Over the years she became more than just my student. She was a friend. Then I realized she was more than that, and I fell in love, I couldn't help it.

"Then came the whole affair at the opera house. I let her go. It was one of the hardest things ever, but I let her go. The last six years I have been through many stages of depression. At first, I believed she would come back. Then, after that, I knew she wouldn't, and I hated myself. Later, I tried hard to find any news of her in Paris, to take her back, and I just gave up. I knew she was gone forever. Then I came here. Madame Giry, Meg's mother told me she was in America. I considered going, but I knew I could not do that forever. I had to continue with some kind of life. So here I am. I ended up here and that is where I plan to stay as long as you'll have me."

He paused for a minute. "There is one thing I ask though, I know that after everything I should not be asking for favors, but if the de Chagnys decide to send their son to your academy, please say no."

Elizabeth was surprised by this, and her first instinct was that he was right, but then she thought that the little boy deserved the best education. "Erik, that's not fair to the child. He wants to continue his vocal lessons. It should be about him, not you and your past."

He looked in her eyes and pleaded with her. "I don't think I could handle it. If he attends the academy, I shall have to leave."

"I thought that's what you say." She was silent for a moment. "All right, Erik, if they decide to send Andrew to the school, I will find them another academy as well suited as mine."

"Thank you," was his only reply and Elizabeth knew he meant it now more than ever. She could deal with one less student, because losing Erik would be a much bigger loss for the school.

This was followed by another long pause. Finally Erik spoke. "Elizabeth, why is the school called the 'Christopher Bennet' School of Fine Arts? Who was he, your father? A brother?"

"He was my nephew. He was one of the most talented children I ever met. I was going to open the school for him to learn here, but weeks before the opening, he drowned in a local pond. I loved him very much. He was the closest thing I had to my own child. I still miss him and there isn't a day that goes by that I didn't wish I had been there to save him. But he was always bright for his age and I know he'd want me to be happy and fulfill his dreams and mine.

"So I opened the school and named it after him." She was beginning to cry. "My brother and his wife were never the same. Neither was his sister Amelia, she was also talented but she refused to go to the school. It hurt her to be here."

Erik didn't know what to say. He had expected her to say that Christopher Bennet was her father, who taught her to play, or something of that sort. He never did understand how people loved. His mother had hated him, and yet there were women in the world like Elizabeth Bennet, who loved a child who wasn't even hers, more than anyone else on earth. He envied that love.

"You see Erik; we all have our tragic pasts. Now we all just need to get past them, and on with our lives. Now it's your turn for it."


	12. A Christmas to Remember

Chapter 11 –

Erik woke the next morning to hear some music playing elsewhere in the house. He walked around, and found Elizabeth playing in her study with the door open. She wore a holly red dress with green embroidery on it. He finally realized that she was as talented as the school played her up to be. When she saw him, she couldn't help but smile. "Happy Christmas, Erik!" she said happily.

"Yes, you too." he replied, Erik had never celebrated Christmas before. He never had anyone to celebrate with. Madame Giry would send him some extra food and a few small items at the holidays, but he never saw the woman on the actual date, nor had he been given a proper gift by her. It wouldn't look proper for an old widow to be buying gifts for a young man. "You look nice today." he added, trying to sound at least partly kind.

"Yes, I love this dress, but I only get to wear it one day a year. Let's go downstairs and we'll exchange gifts after breakfast."

Erik froze up; he had never thought to buy her a gift for Christmas. He had known it was coming up, but he had never thought it proper to buy an employer a gift. Now he had embarrassed himself. What was he going to do?

"Every year, I always buy gifts for my staff, both here and at the school. You didn't know, so I don't expect anything in return." she replied, reading his mind.

"Well, I was, in fact, going to get you a gift, but you see I only get my salary once a month, and I had no prior funds." He replied. It was a lie, but it would hold her over for a while. "I promise to take you out and buy you a gift sometime soon. For today though, I'll do something better."

"Thank you, but it isn't necessary," Elizabeth said with a smile.

"Okay, then I won't give you the special, better, gift."

"Okay, forget that, I want to know my special gift."

"I'll play for you later, some of my own work, I don't play for too many people, but I'll play something for you."

"And sing?" She asked acting as she did when she was a child at this time of year.

"And sing." He replied in a sigh. She smiled and headed downstairs

When they reached the dining room, the staff had prepared one of the most elaborate breakfasts that Erik had ever seen. Everything imaginable was there including some French dishes he had not had for nearly two months. "You thought of everything." he said, impressed.

"I thought you'd like some dishes from home, and I in fact enjoy French Crepes very much."

"I have missed some of the French food from Paris."

"Yes, I'm sure the food from the opera house was very fancy and elaborately prepared." She wasn't trying to be sarcastic, but she regretted saying it as soon as she did.

"It was decent." Erik replied coldly and sat down.

Elizabeth sat down across from him. He did not seem to be into the Christmas spirit.

They began eating in complete silence. During breakfast Elizabeth tried to get a conversation going, but Erik would either give her one-word replies or he would just shrug his shoulders and continue eating.

After they had both sat in silence for long after they were both done eating, Elizabeth got up and asked Erik to join her in the sitting room. She carried a small box with her. Erik knew it must be his gift. His first in fact; the only true gift anyone had given him. "Open it." she said with a smile.

He had to laugh at her. "You are such a child."

"Only at Christmas," she replied, acting as if the statement really bothered her. "Now open it." she commanded jokingly. "It's not much, but I think you truly need them."

He looked down at the small package and slowly began to open it, knowing that it was killing Elizabeth that he was doing it so slowly. Inside the box was a pair of leather gloves, much like the ones he always wore. She must have noticed as well that his were getting worn out. "Well, yes. I do need them, don't I?" he asked, not expecting an answer.

"Yes, one day I noticed that the pair you wore were nearly worn out, and it looked very unprofessional. You should have seen the commotion about how a young unmarried woman was shopping so intently for the perfect pair of men's gloves. I don't think this town will ever recover."

"No, it must have been the scandal of the year." he replied, mockingly.

"Yes. Well, you are not in Paris anymore, so this is as exciting as it gets." She smiled. "It was Wednesday that I finally decided to get you gloves. In fact, I borrowed yours when you weren't wearing them, and took them to the tailor to have a pair made that would be exactly the same. It was horrible. All the ladies of the town were in, looking for last minute things for whatever plans they had for Christmas, and every single one of them went silent when I asked if the tailor had any like them. When he went into the back they all began whispering to each other, obviously about me, so I was very happy to find that he did have a similar design. He told me they should fit, by the way, and that if they don't we can exchange them. However, let's get back to the story. I bought them that day, and by the next day, I had already been asked by a few others who had not been at the store who the lucky man was! I am actually very surprised you didn't hear about it yourself, I think they'll be talking about it forever."

"Yes, well. That is the small town existence, is it not?" Elizabeth nodded. "I am curious, however," Erik added. "To know what the other things you had been thinking of were, when you said you 'finally decided on gloves.'"

"Well, I thought about getting you some supplies for music but it felt too impersonal. I get those types of things for my other employees, and it seemed different with you because it was not going to be left sitting on your desk until you found it. I figured I should really look into what Erik would want or need, rather than take the easy way out."

"So you've spied on me for the last week to find out what I might want or need?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes, and you are a very difficult person to understand."

"You've no idea." he replied. The statement hung in the air, bringing back the events of the day before. In a way Elizabeth wanted to know what made him difficult to understand, but on the other hand, there were things better left unknown. "Would you like me to play for you now?"

"Yes!" she replied, and her eyes lit up. "We can go to my study, it's the most well taken care of in the entire house."

"Well, until I tuned the other two to my liking." Erik replied.

"Then we shall go to the one in the parlor.", she replied hiding her annoyance. There were still moments when she wanted the man to disappear of the face of the earth.

She went to the parlor and he went upstairs to retrieve some music he had written since his arrival. He couldn't find the exact piece he had been looking for, so he brought the entire messy pile.

When he reached the main level and found Elizabeth sitting on a stool some distance from the instrument, he set the papers down and flipped until he found the one he was looking for. He set it down and began to play; he had yet to write lyrics to this particular song, so he decided he'd play another that he had written lyrics for afterward.

As he played, Elizabeth tried to focus on the melody he was playing, but her mind was being drawn to the papers sitting next to her. She reached for one and read the notes and the lyrics. The words were very seductive and as she hummed the melody in her head, she completely lost all thought of the song Erik was still playing.

When Erik finished, he was happy with himself. The song had seemed to flow nicely. When he turned to Elizabeth, she was humming, apparently lost in thought. He was at first amused, but then he saw what it was she was looking at. The score of Don Juan Triumphant was in her hands and she was softly humming the tune to the song he and Christine had sung.

Erik jumped up quickly, causing papers to fall to the floor, and snatched the music from her hands. "What do you think you are doing!" he screamed at her.

Elizabeth jumped back in fright, falling off the stool she had been sitting on. Erik kicked it out of the way and towered over her. He reached down and pulled her up, hardly giving her a chance to gain her balance. "Well?" he screamed at her again and shook her violently. "Where do you think you get the right to read my work?"

"You set it right in front of me." she said, gathering all the courage she could. This surprised Erik, for no woman had ever tried to fight back before. All they ever did was scream frantically, and cry. Elizabeth did neither.

Erik let his grip go and grabbed his music. "From now on, I'll try and avoid tempting you, then." He threw all the pieces into the fire, not caring that he only remembered some of them off by heart, but people do blind things when enraged.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize they were this private to you, Erik. But since they are, first, you should never have set them in plain view of anyone, and second, that doesn't give you the right to do what you just did. I hate to think what you'd do to anyone other than me who had seen them."

"What makes you think that I would trust you to read my work over someone else?"

"Because I would never tell, and deep inside, you know that." She stormed from the room and headed upstairs. Erik didn't move, angry at himself for not only losing his temper again, but also for throwing away a lot of his own work.

Almost an hour later, Elizabeth came back down the stairs dressed to go out, and Erik was heading for his room. "I'm going to the school to check how all the students who didn't have parents to pick them up last night are doing. I'll be back within a few hours."

"I'll co…"

"No." She replied and closed the door behind her.

Elizabeth got inside the carriage and sat inside. They arrived quickly at the school. The night before, about six students were forced to spend the night because their parents had not been able to make it for the concert. Caroline was among them. Elizabeth also wanted to see how the girl was doing.

When she arrived at the academy the parents of all but two of the students had arrived to pick up their children. All that remained was Caroline and a young ballerina whose parents arrived almost immediately after Elizabeth. "Do you know when your parents are coming?" she asked Caroline. As long as the girl remained, Elizabeth was forced to keep a member of her nighttime staff to watch her, and they were also ready to begin their break.

"No, the last time I got a letter from them, they were in Italy. They travel a lot while I'm at school. I wrote to them about the recital, but they never wrote back, I hoped they were going to surprise me, but for now I'd just like to get home"

"Don't you just live down the street, though?"

"Yes, but after last night I'm not allowed to walk down there myself. Everyone says it's too dangerous, and the school's only carriage is buried in a snow drift."

"I'll take you." Elizabeth replied.

She drove her down to her home. She felt sorry for the girl, who was to spend Christmas alone at a house full of servants without her family. "Caroline?" She asked as the girl got out.

"Yes?"

"Do you have a driver on staff here?"

"Yes."

"How would you like to come down this evening and have Christmas dinner with Mr. Erik and me?"

"Alright, what time?"

"Is around six-thirty all right?" Caroline nodded with a smile, she seemed excited at not having to be alone, and Elizabeth knew she herself, and Erik, could use the company as much as Caroline.


	13. Guests

Chapter 12 –

Elizabeth arrived home to find the housekeepers and the cooks working frantically to get things ready for the evening.

She went to Marie. "Hello, Miss." Marie said, sweetly.

"How is everything going?" Elizabeth asked.

"Good. We decided to clean it up and make the house more extravagant because your brother just sent a messenger over saying he'd love it if you would host them for dinner."

"That would be lovely. In fact, could you also add another plate? My student from the school whose parents are away for the holidays is going to be here too. Are you still going to have everything ready by six-thirty?"

"Probably not, but you could entertain the guests in the parlor for a while before dinner."

"All right, thanks, and I am giving you and the entire staff the day to yourselves tomorrow because of how hard you've been working today."

"That's not necessary, you already gave us gifts."

"No, but I want to do it anyway. Erik and I can manage by ourselves tomorrow."

"What about your brother and his family? They will be staying the night I'm sure."

"They can manage themselves too; you are not going to work tomorrow." She smiled at let Marie get back to work.

Elizabeth made her way to Erik's room, she didn't want to speak to him, but she decided that it was only polite to explain the new dinner circumstances. She knocked on the door.

"Yes?"

"Erik, it's Elizabeth, may I come in?"

He came to the door and opened it. The room looked a bit untidy; he had gotten angry about what had happened earlier, and knocked some papers around after returning to his room.

"I wanted to apologize." he said quietly.

"Thank you, I know that was hard for you to say. But let's just pretend that this morning didn't happen, because I'd like it that way."

Erik just nodded, he was still furious with both himself and her. She never should have looked, but he never should have laid his hands on her. She had been terrified and he hated to see that expression on her face. He had seen the terror before on the faces of nearly everyone who saw him, including Christine, but it was different with Elizabeth. She was probably the strongest women he had ever known, and he hated to see her almost brought to tears because of him.

"So. There must have been a reason for you coming up here?" Erik questioned after the silence got too long while they were both lost in thought.

"Yes, I wanted to tell you that when I went back to the school Caroline was still there and her parents, I guess, aren't going to be here for the holidays. So I invited her to come to dinner with us."

"That's fine."

"Oh, and my brother sent a messenger over and him his wife and his children are also going to be joining us from London."

"Children? I thought you said they only had a daughter named Amelia." Erik wondered aloud.

"Oh, no, they have another son, his name is Daniel. He is five years older than Amelia, who was a year old than Christopher. Daniel was ten when it happened, and he was attending a year-round boarding school. He only came home for a little while, and he insisted on going back immediately after the funeral. I think it was hard for him to be there. He had been in boarding school since he was six, so he hardly knew his little brother. He only comes home for two weeks at Christmas and three weeks in the summer. He became much more protective of Amelia after it happened, but he wasn't really affected badly by Christopher's death. I think that thought made it even worse for him. He wanted to be heartbroken like everyone else, but he just couldn't."

"How old is he now?" he asked carefully, he thought that would be the easiest way to ask rather than ask how many years ago Christopher had died.

"Fifteen." she replied. Erik wondered why she had never said anything about the other brother. "I know what you're thinking, Erik." He looked at her curiously. "I do love Daniel, but he was always interested in other things rather than music and the arts. I spent a lot of time with Daniel before he went to school, but after he left, I didn't really get to see him as much, and he became interested in other things. That's probably why I loved Christopher so much, because he was like me when I was a child."

"I didn't believe you would hate one of your nephews, I just was wondering why you never spoke of him."

"I only just spoke of Christopher and Amelia last night, so a day later doesn't really matter much, now does it?"

Erik shook his head and sighed lightly. "No, not really, I'm looking forward to meeting them." He lied slightly in that statement. He didn't care to meet them at all, they were just another family he would have to answer questions and get acquainted with.

"Dinner will be a bit late though because of the extra people. They have had to make more food. We'll probably eat around seven."

"That's fine." he replied.

She headed back downstairs and Erik sat in his room not knowing what to do. He had a few hours until dinner was to be ready, almost seven in fact, so he decided he'd wander the house and help out a bit.

Around a quarter after six, Caroline arrived. She was dressed in a beautiful navy dress with white lace on the edges and silver embroidery across the torso. Her hair was curled and pulled back and she was wearing a thin layer of makeup. She looked a bit older than she was.

"You look beautiful, Caroline." Elizabeth said and gave the girl a sweet hug.

"Thank you, I like your dress too, it is very festive." She said with a smile.

"Yes, I do love this dress very much." Elizabeth replied looking down at her Christmas gown.

"Hello, Mr. Erik." Caroline said as Erik made his way into the room from a side door. "Well, I'd say you look nice too, but you always look like that." she said with a smile.

Elizabeth giggled a bit, she was right; she had yet to see Erik wear anything that didn't look identical to his last outfit.

"Anyway, we are having some other guests tonight and they aren't here yet so we can go into the parlor." Elizabeth said as she led the two into the other room.

Caroline looked at the piano and couldn't resist the temptation to sit and play it. "I didn't know you played." Elizabeth said.

"My mother wanted me to learn, I've been playing for almost nine years." Elizabeth smiled very impressed by her talents. She continued playing some carols while Elizabeth sang along with her. Erik sat silently because he didn't know many of the carols.

Soon there was a loud knock at the door and Elizabeth went out to greet her brother and his family. Caroline stopped playing and looked to Erik. "Do you know her other guests?"

"No, I didn't even know she had a brother until yesterday." he replied. "Well we better go and greet them, it would only be polite."

The two went out to the foyer and found Elizabeth hugging numerous people.

Erik looked around at her family and decided that Elizabeth and her brother looked very much alike, and that Amelia was a picture of her aunt.

"I'd like for you to meet my family." Elizabeth said with a huge smile on her face. "This is my brother David Bennet, his wife Jane, their son Daniel and daughter Amelia. Everyone, this is Erik, he is the vocal teacher at my academy, and this is Caroline, a student of mine."

Everyone said hello, and Erik shook Mr. Bennet's hand. Amelia wouldn't go near the strange man with the mask; she stayed close to her brother and whispered something in his ear. This wasn't unnoticed by Erik or Elizabeth.

"Our meal isn't ready yet, so we are going to go into the parlor for a little while." Elizabeth said. It was six thirty so they would probably be sitting for about half an hour.

When everyone got into the room, it became silent. "Caroline, would you like to play for us?" Elizabeth asked.

"Not really, but I'll sing if Mr. Erik plays." she said hopefully.

"Sure." He replied and got up to sit at the piano. "What would you like to sing?"

"The carols from the concert; I didn't get to sing them yesterday." Erik nodded and began with _Silent Night_.

After she sang through three of them, Marie came and announced that the meal was ready. The group headed for the dining room.

In the room, there stood a beautiful Christmas tree covered in glass ornaments imported from Germany. The walls were decorated with holly and other Christmas decorations. Elizabeth was pleased by how much the staff had outdone themselves. Amelia was in awe of it. She thought it was beautiful. Caroline was amazed, too. She usually spent her Christmas home with the housekeepers while her parents were somewhere foreign; this was entirely new. Daniel looked around once, but quickly took his seat. The boy was being strangely quiet and Elizabeth noticed, even though no one else did.

"So, Daniel, how is school this year?" Elizabeth asked as she sat down leaving the head of the table for her brother.

"Good, my teachers say I'm doing well and that I excel in English and writing more than anything."

"I'm glad to hear, and Amelia, how is your school?" Amelia was attending a private girl's school outside of London.

"Good, I like my classes very much." she said quickly.

The dinner went on like that. Every time Elizabeth tried to get the children to talk for more than a few seconds, the conversation would end. It was as difficult as trying to get Erik to talk when he didn't want to.

Mr. Bennet caught on to his sister's attempts and he tried his own. "So, Caroline, how long have you been studying at Elizabeth's academy?"

"Well, I was seven when it opened five years ago and I was there from the start. I love it there."

"And you're in the vocal class?"

"Yes, my mother wanted me to take instrument classes, but I preferred the vocal and I've done fairly well. It's been the best since Mr. Erik came. Before that we had to have one of the instrumental instructors come in for a vocal teacher, and he wasn't the greatest singer ever. Then, one day, Miss Bennet told us that Erik would be our new teacher. It's my last year, this year, because I'll be graduating, and it is sad to know that I'm leaving. However, I might keep up with it and move to the city, but I'm not sure what I want to do yet. I think most likely though I'll probably finish my studies for school and then pursue whatever I'd like to do. I'm only twelve, after all."

"Dear me, your only twelve, you look much older than that." Jane Bennet exclaimed.

"Yes, I dressed up older today; usually I look closer to my age."

"Well, you do look lovely." Amelia said smiling.

"Thank you! So do you. The dark green looks really nice on you."

"Thank you." Amelia had hated the dress her mom had picked for her, but if the older girl liked it, she wasn't going to complain.

"So do you like your school?" Caroline asked. "I've never been to an all girls school, it would seem so strange after going to my school now. But I think that is where I would end up after the Academy."

"It's very nice, I like it there, I like being home more than anything, but school is fun."

"Yeah, I prefer the music part of our classes, rather than the actual studies but I do all right in my academics."

"Caroline is being modest, she does very well in her studies and she excels in her music classes." The girl smiled at her teacher.

"Elizabeth, can I show Caroline your gardens? They are so pretty in winter that she has to see them." Amelia asked.

"I'm all right with it as long as you bundle up warm, especially you, Caroline. Only if your parents agree though."

"Please, Papa?" Amelia asked sweetly. She had her father wrapped around her fingers. She was his little angel.

"Only if your brother comes along. You got lost last time."

"That was a year ago, I'm smarter now. I won't get lost. Besides, Caroline is twelve."

"And your brother is fifteen. Daniel?" Amelia pleaded with him and gave him her cutest face.

"All right. Come on, girls." He replied and stood up nodding to the adults.

It was warmer than the night before, and it was only snowing lightly. The almost-full moon was very bright, and it illuminated the snow. "It's so pretty!" Caroline exclaimed.

"Yeah, our aunt does have beautiful gardens. They are even nicer in the summer, but Amelia likes them in the winter more. I like them in the summer because there is so much more to do."

"And there is probably a ton of flowers." Caroline added.

"There is. It's so pretty. I like it in the winter, though, because it looks like something out of a storybook." Amelia said.

"Let's walk around; I want to go over there." Caroline said pointing to some bigger trees.

"It's really cold out though, maybe we should go inside." Amelia offered.

"It is getting cold." Caroline agreed.

"Well, you have to see the other side of the gardens first!" Daniel said quickly.

"Daniel!" His sister protested.

"You don't have to come!" he replied.

"Fine, I'll see you two inside," and the ten year old went inside again.

The two walked alone for a little while and stopped by the tree Caroline had been looking at. "If you're cold, we could go in. I don't want anyone to get angry, or you to get sick."

"No, they are just worried because yesterday I got stuck in the cold. I'm fine though. Mr. Erik saved me." She told him the whole story and he stood silently next to her.

"You're okay though, right?" She nodded. "Tell me about Mr. Erik, he seems kind of…"

"It's just the mask that makes you wonder about him at first. For the first couple of days I hated him, but he's great at what he does. After you really get to know him, the mask doesn't seem to matter anymore."

"Does he ever not wear it?"

"No, I think he must have had an accident or something when he was young, and his face is probably deformed. No one ever asks, because it really doesn't matter." He just nodded.

They walked for a little while longer and it had gotten darker because the moon was covered by a thick layer of clouds.

"It's getting colder; I think we should turn back to the house." Daniel finally said, after a long silence. Caroline nodded and they turned around and headed in the direction of the house.

As his father had predicted, the two were now kind of lost. They could see the house, but they didn't know how to get to it. Soon, they were approached by a dark figure. "Where have you been?" asked the voice of Erik. Caroline sighed.

"We got lost; we didn't know how to get back, sir. I'm sorry. I just wanted to show her my favorite parts of the gardens." Daniel replied.

"Come with me." Erik said shaking his head. "You guys have given both your mother and Elizabeth a scare. Now let's get you inside—especially you, Caroline." He followed silently behind them.

"Do you know how long you were out there?" Jane demanded of her son.

"We got lost."

"Well, Miss Henson's carriage has been here and gone, and she is going to have to stay here with us for the night. You should have brought her back quicker." Mr. Bennet added.

"It's really okay if I stay here, in fact it will probably be more fun." Caroline said with a smile, "and it's not his fault at all. I wanted to see the whole garden."

"Well, all right then, but I think you should both thank Erik for coming out and looking for you."

"Thank you," they chimed.

"Well, I know we were going to exchange gifts, but we can do that in the morning. I am exhausted and I think I shall retire for the night. Amelia, Daniel."

"I'm not tired, mother." Daniel protested. She gave him the typical mother look and he nodded and said goodnight. His sister did the same.

"I think I'll go to bed also." Caroline said, "if someone will show me where."

Elizabeth helped her up to her room and offered her some nightclothes to wear, even though they would be a few sizes too big.

When she came downstairs, only Erik was left. Her brother had gone up with his family after he finished his drink. "Did you have a good Christmas, Erik?" Elizabeth asked as she sat down on the couch across from him.

"Probably the best I've had."

"Really? Even after everything, this is the best?"

"Yes. This is the first Christmas I remember that I didn't spend alone."

"Oh, I'm sorry." she replied, feeling sad for him, remembering all the great holidays she had had when she was younger.

"Don't be, this one was splendid."


	14. Dilemma's

Chapter 13 –

Elizabeth sat, contemplating what Erik had said. There was so much she didn't know about him, and she would never know. It made her pity him, but she knew that he would never accept anyone's pity. She was starting to find it difficult to find the right things to say. She always had to think about it first, before outright saying it, just in case it would make him sad, or make him go into a fit of rage, like before. She had been terrified of him at that moment; he had looked like he would truly harm her.

Then, of course, there were moments when he could sit nicely and have a nice, normal conversation with not only her, but also his students, and her whole family. It didn't make sense at all. When anyone else she knew was angry, you knew it right away. Erik was very good at keeping his anger inside and taking all his frustrations out in one single moment. She fell asleep, trying to understand a fragment of everything Erik, but it seemed impossible.

The next morning, Elizabeth woke early and decided that if they were going to be exchanging gifts that morning, she should go and buy something nice for Caroline. She was ready and heading downstairs when she saw Erik leaving the house.

"Where are you going?" Elizabeth asked curiously. Did he leave like this all the time, or was it just something she didn't notice?

He turned around. "I'm going out."

"Where?"

"I'm going into town, if you must know."

"What for?"

"A gift."

She looked at him and half smiled. "Could it be for me?" He just looked at her.

"Sometimes you really do just act like a child."

"I am a child, but anyway, I need to go to town and pick up something for Caroline. I'd feel bad if everyone else was receiving gifts and she was forgotten."

"That's very sweet of you," and he motioned for her to walk in front of him.

When Erik walked out of the house, he hadn't been looking at Elizabeth, and she hit him with a snowball in the arm. At first he looked at her, a little surprised. Then he smiled.

"That's for calling me a child."

"Well, you are one. Now come on." He walked a bit ahead of her, and, as she walked around the corner of the house, he hit her with one. She was even more surprised that he had done it; it was not typical Erik behavior. Afterward, he just turned around and got the horses ready for traveling to town. He acted as if it didn't happen. This made Elizabeth burst out laughing.

Erik looked to her, and couldn't help but smile at her. As much as she annoyed him, and brought out the worst in him, he couldn't help but like her at this moment.

The ride to town was relatively silent, as the two were lost in thought for what to buy. Elizabeth didn't know what to get for a twelve year old, and Erik knew even less about what to get for Elizabeth.

The two reached town and went to the largest store there. It wasn't open yet, but Elizabeth knew the owner, and he was happy to let them in early. Elizabeth immediately found a table of porcelain dolls like the one she had bought for her niece. She didn't think Caroline was too old for this type of doll, but she thought she might look around more. She found a few little table ornaments that the girl might like, but she still didn't think they were nice enough.

Erik made his way around the store, trying to stay out of Elizabeth's way. He wasn't sure at all what to get her; he never even really given a proper gift to Christine. He walked around the store, still not knowing what to get her, when he came across what he thought was a very pretty jewelry box. It was made of ebony wood and it had carved leaves around the sides of it. When he opened it, it began to play a song. At first he wasn't sure what it was, but then it struck him: it was a version of Johann Pachelbel's Canon. He knew that this was the perfect gift, mainly because he had heard her playing it the morning before.

He waited until Elizabeth had walked over to something near the window, and he rushed- as much as someone like Erik ever rushes- to the counter. He quickly paid for it and had it wrapped. Elizabeth saw him a few minutes later with a wrapped package. "I thought you didn't have any money—since I haven't paid you yet?"

He smiled. "I found some money hidden away."

"I'm sure of it. Now, please help me find a gift for Caroline."

"I thought the dolls you were looking at were nice."

"I don't know, she is twelve, and maybe it is a little immature for a twelve year old." she replied, looking back at the dolls. She walked back over to them. Erik stood behind her. "I like that one. It almost looks like her, with the hair and the blue eyes." Elizabeth offered, "But she wouldn't ever wear a dress like that."

"Does the doll have to look like her?" Erik asked, but he was completely ignored.

"This one has a dark blue dress like the one she wore yesterday, but it has black hair and brown eyes." Erik opened his mouth to offer another suggestion, but Elizabeth hurried over to the counter. "Am I allowed to change to outfits on the dolls?" she asked the storeowner. He laughed a little but then nodded and Elizabeth turned back to the dolls. When she finally had the one she wanted, the two headed back for the house.

"It is almost nine o'clock, so everyone should be awake, or almost ready to wake up." Elizabeth said on the carriage ride back. She seemed happy that she had gotten the right gift.

When they arrived at the house, Erik went straight for his room, while Elizabeth took the wrapped doll to the tree.

When everyone had awoken and eaten breakfast, they all moved their chairs around the tree. "So, who would like to go first?" Elizabeth asked. Amelia looked like she was going to fall off her seat if she didn't get to open one of hers. "How about if Amelia goes first?" Elizabeth asked, and saw the girl's face light up immediately. She handed her a small package from her brother. Inside were some supplies she needed for school. It wasn't a very exciting gift, but she was happy, for the time being. Next went, Daniel because it had been his gift to Amelia. He received some things he needed for riding from Elizabeth.

Elizabeth opened her gift, and it went on like that. She made sure she saved the two dolls for the very end, and she gave them to the girls at the same time. They opened them and Amelia smiled and hugged hers. "They're so pretty." she said, looking between her own and Caroline's. "And they look like us." Elizabeth took a second look and laughed.

"Oh I'm sorry, I gave you the wrong ones, this one was Caroline's and this one Amelia's."

"But I like this one, it will remind me of my new friend." Amelia said happily.

"I agree. Besides, I think having a little doll that looked like me would be a little scary sitting in my room." Caroline added and everyone began to laugh.

Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder about Erik's gift. He had been given a small gift from her brother and the family, because she had written them about her houseguest, but he had stayed very silent through the whole thing. She also was curious about the gift he had gotten her earlier.

Around eleven o'clock, Caroline's carriage arrived and she went home. She said goodbye to everyone and Daniel offered to walk her to the carriage. The adults eyed each other but stayed silent.

Around two o'clock, after an early tea, David and his family decided to take a trip into town. Elizabeth said she wasn't in the mood, and Erik declined, so the four set out alone.

Elizabeth was sitting in her study when Erik knocked on the door. She let him come in. Behind his back he held the package he had gotten that morning.

"I have a gift for you." he said nicely. Elizabeth smiled.

"I figured you did." she replied happily and he sat down in the chair next to hers. She took off the wrapping carefully and found the wood box inside. "Oh, it's so pretty!" She exclaimed. "The carving is amazing."

"Open it." Erik said with a smile.

She looked at him strangely, but she opened it anyway and the music began to play. Her hand went to her mouth. "I love this piece; it is one of my favorites. How did you know?"

"I heard you playing it yesterday morning. I just came across it at the store by luck."

"Oh, thank you Erik, it's so sweet!" She set the box down on her desk and hugged him. At first he was a little surprised, but he hugged her back. "It makes my gloves seem very unimportant." she said, after they broke the hug.

"I like the gloves, and I needed gloves, so don't worry about that. I think that my hands are at least of some importance." Elizabeth laughed at this.

"Still, your gift is very sweet." He nodded. He scanned over her desk for a minute.

"What are you working on?"

"I was just going over ideas for the spring show."

"Already? The break's not even over yet."

"I know, but first I have to find the story, then I have to compose it, and then we have to teach it to the students. Last year they barely got two months to practice after we had auditions."

"Well, this year you have me to help compose it, so we should get it done in no time." Elizabeth nodded. "So—tell me how this show works again? We hold auditions for the main roles for dancers and singers and we compose the music for the band and audition solos for them?"

"Yes. This year, however, I think I'll do it a little differently. I think that, instead of one long story, I'll do a mixture of different fairy tales, so almost everyone gets a singing and dancing solo. What we usually do is double-cast each of the main roles as a dancer and a singer, so, for example, while Cinderella is singing about something she is a vocal student but while she at the ball dancing with the prince, she is a dancing student. That way, everything is fair. The musicians will all play all the songs, both singing and dancing pieces, and students audition for instrument solos. We usually write enough instrumental solos for almost the whole band, since they don't get to be seen. Oh, and the roles in the stories that don't have singing at all, we always give to dancers."

"That makes sense, I like it. It's very fair." Erik agreed. "What fairy tales do you have in mind?"

"I know for sure that I want to do Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. I think we should do seven in total. I think that any more than seven would drag it on too long. Here's a list of a few more I've been looking at."

Erik looked them over and found that he had actually read most of them when he was younger, from a book on fairy tales Madame Giry used to read to Meg when she was little. "I like The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rupuzel." Erik replied after a while. "I can almost pick certain students for each role. I think Caroline would make the perfect Cinderella, Emily would make a wonderful Red Riding Hood."

"Yes, that is what I like about the mixture of fairy tale ideas, I've already written down a cast I would like for each one."

"I think that instead of auditions, we should just decide for ourselves who could do it. It would give us more time. We could send a message to Meg and she could do the same for her dancers, and Mr. Colvin and Mr. Jacobs probably already know who they are giving the solos to." Elizabeth nodded. "If we had the cast decided right after the break, we could have costumes made right away.. If we work hard enough, we can get some of the music composed before school starts again. It would give more time for rehearsals and less chance of people forgetting things. Why don't we go over who we think would be good for each of these roles?"

Erik set down a piece of parchment and the two began thinking of who could play whom. The only problem they found was that they would need to use girls as dwarfs in Snow White. They talked for hours, and they didn't even realize that everyone else had arrived home. Reluctantly, they went for dinner but they still had a ton of work to do.

* * *

A/N- I thought I'd be a really nice storywriter person and reply to all my nice reviews!

**Christy Day** - My first review! Thanks...i like Elizabeth's character, I wanted someone who wasn't really afraid of most people...sorta to challenge Erik. So Elizabeth's character seemed to work well.

**ante mortem** - You have replied the most and I'm glad you like it...I love ELizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice so I thought I'd incorporate little things from that book into my story, I didn't want anything like an exact copy of it, but I decided a few things were worth using in the story. And I'd like you to rave as much as you'd like because I lvoe the reviews

**The Siltent violinist** - Thanks, I'm glad you like it, I'm having and blast writing it. And I'd like more reviews, but If I'm getting good ones from a small amout of people that's enough for me.

**KitsuneRW** - Yeah thanks, I love little reviews liek this...and I'm sorry I took almost a month for one of my chapters, I had a ton of people over at my house and it couldn't get any time on the computer, but thanks for being loyal!

**MastersofNight** - Your comment was really great, I'm really really glad you liked the interaction with teh children, at first I wasn't sure if their reaction to them was very good, but then I thought that because of his teaching they wouldn't be so judgemental about the mask... Also thansk for the comment about Elizabeth, I like her too. And yes, "you guys" probably not the best choice of words, I really need to go back and find where I did that.

**Harem98** - Thanks for teh comments at the 2 chapter mark, I love it when people reply every once in a while. Also, thanks for teh comment on the Christine part, I wasn't srue if the confrontation was very good, but thanks. Also thanks for liking ELizabeth.And yes I thought I should do his outburst because he was becoming a little to OOC fora while, so he needed to get angry.

**Eleniel of the Stars** - Yeah his temper is a bit more controlled, he outbursts a bit but he is still Erik. And I'm glad you like it.

**light barrer** -I'm really glad you like it, and here'sa new chapter for you and I love it when reviewers use exclamation points (!) because then I know they are probably excited about it. (yes a little strange, but I'm like that sometime.)

Also huge thansk to Gevasia because my story would be nothing without her wonderful Betaing I love her! I don't think she even comes here at but she is on Aria...but thanks to her anyway because she is great!


	15. A Perfect Cast

Okay, so I know this chapter is a little cliché at parts, but I just had to do it. For the plot.

Chapter 14 –

After dinner, Elizabeth and Erik were quickly ready to go upstairs and continue working on the cast list, but instead they were convinced to sit with the family in the sitting room and talk for a while.

Erik was only half listening to what was going on. He heard a few things about both kids' schools, and about David's business. Elizabeth talked a little about the school. He didn't even notice when David had asked him to go into the other room with him for a drink, and felt embarrassed when the man had to repeat it.

"Sure," Erik replied. He looked to Elizabeth, and she looked as bewildered as he felt.

The two men reached the other room and sat in silence for a minute as they drank. Finally David spoke. "You must know, Erik, I was quite surprised when I found out you were staying here with my sister."

"Yes, it is a strange arrangement, isn't it? Well, when I originally got the job she offered to let me stay here for as long as I like or until I found another place suitable." Erik replied slowly, unsure of where this conversation was really going.

"The thing is, Erik, that my sister means a lot to my family, and we all would just like to know that she is safe." Mr. Bennet replied, equally slowly, but Erik knew it was for different reasons. "We don't want to see Elizabeth getting hurt. Right now I am unsure of what your presence in her life is. Yes, you work for her, but it is more than that, I'm sure. I am not sure the exact position you are in with my little sister right now, but it seems to be leaning towards more than just friendship. I do not need the details about your relationship with her, but I will tell you that whatever your intentions are, if you hurt Elizabeth, you will hear from me. Elizabeth does let her guard down very easily, and she has a hard time getting close to people beyond friendship. There seems to be something between you and her, and I just want you to know that if you have no intentions to have a proper relationship with her, do not let it get any farther than this."

"Mr. Bennet, I assure you that whatever the relationship between Elizabeth and me is, it is not a romantic one. We are friends. I also promise you that if ever the relationship did increase to something else, I would have absolutely no desire to hurt her in any way."

"That's very good news. Now I'll let you and Elizabeth go back to whatever you were working on," and he motioned for Erik to go.

They went back into the sitting room and stood in the doorway. "Do you want to get back to work now. Elizabeth?" Erik asked.

"Sure." she replied, and they went up to the study. On the way. Elizabeth's curiosity got the better of her. "So—what did my brother want you in the other room for?"

"A drink, that's all." Erik replied.

"You're a horrible liar, Erik. What did he want?"

"First of all, I am a very good liar; you just seem to be able to catch me when I do it. And second, he just wanted to talk a bit."

"About what?" she asked in a rather loud outburst.

"If you must know, David wanted to know what my intentions toward his sister were."

"Oh, he didn't—did he?" Elizabeth asked, immediately turning bright red. "I'm sorry, Erik, I had no idea."

"It's fine, I survived, didn't I?"

"Of course you did. Now, let's get to work."

The two went back into the study and began to work on the cast.

Elizabeth woke the next morning looking up at the ceiling. She soon realized it wasn't the ceiling of her bedroom; she looked to her right, and saw her desk and remembered that she and Erik had been working in the study the night before. She must have fallen asleep on the couch. She wasn't in the mood go get up so she just snuggled closer to the pillow she was sleeping on.

"Comfortable?" asked a voice from above Elizabeth's head.

She turned her head around, and realized that the pillow she had been using was in fact Erik's lap. She sprang up instantly and managed to knock heads with him. She hit her forehead hard into the side of his mask, moving it out of place a bit, and Erik sprung up and turned around to put it back in place. Elizabeth still sat on the other side of the couch holding her head and groaning. She was still only half-awake, but she did see Erik's reaction. Erik turned around and looked at Elizabeth, who sat holding her forehead. He couldn't help but laugh at her. "Sorry." was all she could come up with to say.

"A little jumpy are we this morning?" Erik asked with a grin on his face.

"That's not funny, Erik, I was a little bit surprised to wake up like that."

"Apparently."

"What time is it?" Elizabeth asked knowing it was probably still pretty early since there was no light shining through the curtains on the windows.

"It is six-thirty."

"And how late were we up last night?" she asked, still massaging her forehead. The cold hard mask was not something she enjoyed smashing into.

"I'm not sure. Very late though, I assure you." She just nodded.

"Are we done?"

"We are far from done, Elizabeth; we still have many, many hours that you will fall asleep on my lap from working so hard."

"I already apologized, Erik, I didn't mean to fall asleep in your lap."

"I know, but when you did fall asleep I continued working, and I came up with the finished list. I think you'll like it."

"Probably, considering you're the teacher, not me. My opinion doesn't count, only yours does."

He smiled and sat back down. "Your opinion always counts. If it didn't I'd have done this in my room without you. Most of it we decided together, but I did the last few touches."

He handed her the list for the first Story.

**Cinderella**

Cinderella: Caroline Henson

Prince Charming: Andrew Billings

Fairy Godmother: Brianna Carlson

Stepmother: Julie Barns

Stepsister #1: Jennifer Billings

Stepsister #2: Emily Dulairier

Elizabeth didn't say anything abut Cinderella. She liked the casting.

Erik gave her the Frog Prince Casting.

**The Frog Prince**

Frog Prince: Fredrick Henderson

Princess: Hattie Caldwell

"Erik, don't you think we need more Characters than just two?"

"No, we don't, the only other Characters in this story are the girl's family and we don't need songs for them, they can be played by Dancers." he told her

He handed her Hansel and Gretel.

**Hansel and Gretel**

Hansel: Andrew Billings

Gretel: Jennifer Billings

Evil Witch: Aurora Walker

"This one only has three!" she protested

"There are only three important Characters in Hansel and Gretel."

"Don't you think they are a little old to be playing little kids?"

"Don't you think Julie's a little young to be playing the old Stepmother in Cinderella?" he replied.

"Fine, give me Sleeping Beauty."

**Sleeping Beauty**

Sleeping Beauty: Julie Barns

Prince Charming: Jimmy Davis

Evil Fairy: Aurora Walker

Good Fairy #1: Jennifer Billings

Good Fairy #2: Caroline Henson

Good Fairy #3: Brianna Carlson

"I like it, what's the next one?", she asked.

"So much for your opinion not mattering, and it's all about what the teacher thinks."

"Well, I'm not trying to tell you to change it, am I?"

"Here's Little Red Riding Hood." He handed her the paper.

**Little Red Riding Hood**

Red Riding Hood: Emily Dulaurier

Wolf: Andrew Billings

Grandmother: Hattie Caldwell

Hunter: Jimmy Davis

"Oh, Erik, this one is cast perfectly!"

"Hattie won't want to be a Grandmother, but it will be good. This one is Snow White. You'll like this one."

**Snow White**

Snow White: Aurora Walker

Prince Charming: Jimmy Davis

Witch: Jennifer Billings

Dwarf #1: Andrew Billings

Dwarf #2: Julie Barns

Dwarf #3: Hattie Caldwell

Dwarf #4: Fredrick Henderson

Dwarf #5: Caroline Henson

Dwarf #6: Brianna Carlson

Dwarf #7: Emily Dulaurier

"It's the whole class." Elizabeth replied after reading it.

"I know, I think we should do it as a finale, because everyone will be in it."

The Last paper was Rapunzel.

**Rapunzel**

Rapunzel: Brianna Carlson

Prince Charming: Fredrick Henderson

Witch: Jennifer Billings

"They're really good, Erik."

"Thanks. I was thinking we could narrate each one and have songs for the Narrators, but then I decided that it would be too many Characters for each person. We'd need one or two more students to do that." Elizabeth nodded.

"So what order do you think we should put them in? I agree that Snow White should be last, that one would make a good finale. The dances could have many dancers in it, because of all the characters. I think we should open with Cinderella."

"I like that one being first. Then Hansel and Gretel, because we don't need to put all the princess stories together." He nodded.

They talked out the order for a few more minutes and came up with:

Cinderella

Hansel and Gretel

Sleeping Beauty

The Frog Prince

Little Red Riding Hood

Rapunzel

Snow White

"I'll send the list to everyone else and see what they think." Erik nodded.

It was nearing eight o'clock, so they decided to leave the confines of the room in which they had spent the better part of the day before.

When they got to the dining room, there was a small breakfast waiting for them. It wasn't as fancy as the last two days' breakfast but it was still good.

"Well, well, well, looks like you two made it out of that room for a while." David said with a smile.

"We finished casting the play." Elizabeth replied happily.

"Good. What do you have planned for today, sister?"

"I'm not sure. What would you four like to do? I'm open to suggestions."

"I'm not sure, we did the town yesterday. It's not very cold today, so we could just take a ride around the forest." he suggested.

"We're going horseback riding?" Amelia asked as she rushed into the room.

"Do you want to?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, it would be so much fun. Could we invite Caroline? She has a horse and she likes riding."

"What about Caroline?" Daniel asked, as he and his mother made their way into the room.

"Okay—no one speak. Do you guys want to go for a horseback ride, and, if so, do you want to invite Caroline?" Elizabeth said, slowly. Everyone was silent. "You can speak now."

"Yes." Amelia replied, and everyone else nodded.

"All right, I'll send word down to Caroline's home." Elizabeth said as she turned to go find some stationary. "Oh, Erik, do you want to come?"

"I think I'll stay here."

"Don't even think about going over the cast lists. You'll go crazy if you do." Erik nodded.

After everyone was ready and Caroline was over with her horse, they set out. Erik stood and waved to Caroline, who had begged him to come. He told her that he'd tell her a secret when she came back, and she was quiet again.

After a little while spent riding, the kids decided to go ahead and leave Elizabeth, her brother, and her sister-in-law behind.

"So, little sister, how are you?" David asked curiously. He was looking at her strangely, and Elizabeth couldn't read the expression.

"What do you mean? I'm fine, David."

"I know, but there are a few things I'm wondering about." he replied with the same look.

"If you'd like to ask about Erik, go ahead. There is nothing there more than friendship."

"Yet he lives with you." Jane added.

"He came to stay with me when I first gave him the job as the vocal teacher. He had nowhere to go, and after a couple of awkward days we were really comfortable with the situation. As far as I know, he's going to stay permanently."

"Are you sure it's nothing more than friendship? The two of you seem very close." David asked.

"Erik and I just get along very well. We fight a lot also, but when we work together and don't annoy one another, we have fun and enjoy each other's company. Why do you care so much about my relationship with Erik? Don't pretend you don't, because I know you asked his intentions last night."

"Partly because I don't want to see you get hurt. He seems like a really nice man and you seem to get along really well, but who knows? Mostly it's because we don't want to see you end up alone later on. I know you're happy with your life at the school, but don't you think there might be more than that? We'd love to see you married with children, and we know that you'd like that too."

Elizabeth opened and closed her mouth a few times but she didn't know what to say. Thankfully, she was rescued by the kids in front of them. "Come on, Father, we want to get there before the day is over." Amelia complained.

"All right, we're coming child, don't worry." he replied and the three hurried up a bit.

Elizabeth stayed silent the rest of the ride, thinking about what her brother had said. She knew she didn't want to end up alone, but a relationship aloneseemed so out of the question. Besides, she hardly wanted a relationship with Erik of all people…right?

I have a few more- comments yay!

**Light barrer -**Thanks for the comment and I'd like to know what you didn't like about the chapter because I would love to be able to avoid problems like that in the future

**Christy Day** - Thanks again for the comment it's always great to get nice reviews like that.

**Harem 98 **- I do like giving Erik a sweetside, yes it does make him more perfect, but also more human, I don't believe that people couldavoid being sweet at least onetime in their life, especially one that he might be enjoying, cause I believe he'd like it atElizabeth school teaching. SO yes, tehre will probably be more sweet Erik moments.

**Eleniel of the Stars - **Thanks I like my characters being sweet and nice, and I am glad you mean that in a good way, and Erik has to have his sweet momemts here and there.


	16. Near Closure

Chapter 15 –

When they arrived back at the house, they found Erik playing a random piece in the sitting room.

"Why are you in here?" Elizabeth asked.

"I was told not to look over my cast, or I'd go crazy, so now I am going insane not looking at it." he replied bitterly, still continuing the song.

"Erik, you don't have to listen to me, you know. If you really wanted to, you could have looked over the cast."

"I know." he replied and turned back to the notes he was reading. Elizabeth assumed that he wasn't really reading the notes and that he was playing from memory. Everyone sat down and listened to Erik play.

Dinner came and went without any worthwhile events, and everyone retired to the parlor again.

"Could I take Caroline out for a walk?" Daniel asked boldly.

"After what happened last time? I don't think so." Mr. Bennet replied sternly to his son.

"We didn't get hurt or anything, please, sir? I want to see the rest of the gardens, Daniel tells me there are even more outside the west wing of the house." Caroline asked.

"Yes, I'm sure you'd love to see the i gardens /i wouldn't you?" Elizabeth commented with a smile.

"Please?" They both pleaded.

"Fine, just go. Get out of my sight." David Bennet said, and the two left the room quickly.

"I think her parents might want to kill me after this." Elizabeth said, joking. "She is only twelve."

"Don't worry dear, Daniel knows that and they were both brought up very well, so we don't need to worry."

"I hope you are right, brother."

Caroline ended up staying for the night again because she wanted to say goodbye to her new friends, who were leaving the next day. When they all stood at the front door everyone was silent. Elizabeth was beginning to tear up and was trying to hide it. She loved her family and she was going to miss them, but she hardly ever cried openly and she didn't want anyone to see it. However, no one else cared in the least.

She hugged her niece and nephew first, then her sister-in-law. Then she turned to her big brother. She was going to miss them all, but probably her brother the most. "I'm going to miss you very much." she said quietly to him.

"You should come visit us; you haven't been to London for so long and we would love for you to visit." he replied. Elizabeth nodded.

Amelia promised to write her new friend as often as she could, and Caroline had already promised to write to her brother. They all hugged. Erik shook Mr. Bennet's hand and then the family was off. Caroline's carriage had arrived seconds later and she, too, was gone. Erik and Elizabeth stood in the front foyer for a few minutes silently.

"I'm going to miss them dearly." Elizabeth finally said breaking the silence.

"Yes, having them here was a nice change. You should go visit them as soon as you can."

"Yes, my brother invited me; I might go during the summer when I wouldn't feel bad about abandoning the school."

"Why don't we have dinner? Then we could work on some of the stuff for the show." Erik asked kindly, he wasn't good with this type of confrontation, he didn't know how to comfort people very well. Elizabeth nodded and they headed for the dinning room.

They ate in complete silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. Then they headed for Elizabeth's study and continued with work on the production.

That was how the remainder of the break went, and the two had gotten reasonably far in the writing of the scripts for both Cinderella and Snow White.

When the school year began, again Elizabeth got up extra early on the first day back, and headed for a meeting she was not going to enjoy.

When she reached the school, she found the people she was meeting were already there. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. de Changy."

"Hello, Miss Bennet how are you today."

"I am fine, thank you, how are you."

"We are both doing well, as is Andrew." Elizabeth nodded and led them to her office.

She sat down behind her desk and the couple sat down in the chairs in front of her. The family had really wanted for Andrew to attend Elizabeth's school, but after finding Erik, that changed. Now they assumed that Elizabeth had sent the Phantom away and that she would still be interested in teaching Andrew.

"We first would like to say that we're sorry for the problems we caused for you on Christmas Eve, but you must understand that finding _him_ there caused some very serious concern. But with the current situation, we would still gladly send Andrew to you school." Raoul said with a smile

"What do you mean by current situation?" Elizabeth asked confused.

"Well, as long as _he_ isn't here anymore, we see no problems for Andrew attending your school. You must understand that we don't blame you for the problem. We know that you did not know about his past…"

"Sir, Erik still works at my academy; I chose not to relieve him of his position. The reason in fact that I asked you to attend this meeting was because I would like to help find a different school for your son. I know of some very nice music academies in London and I think that would be better suited for your family." Elizabeth said calmly.

"He still works here?" Raoul jumped up from his seat and knocked the chair over as he said it.

"Yes, Erik is a very capable teacher, and I don't believe that the experiences you had with him were reason to find a new teacher. I have never had a vocal teacher with Erik's ability and I don't want to send him away."

The couple sat still, with horrified looks on their faces. Finally, Raoul moved and took Christine by the arm, forcefully, but not to hurt her and the couple left the school.

Elizabeth followed behind them. When they reached the front door Erik stood there, his eyes and Raoul's eyes locked in a hateful glare. Christine pulled her husband away and headed for the carriage.

The two were gone in seconds, and Erik looked back from the carriage to Elizabeth, who still stood in the doorway. The two didn't know what to say to each other. Erik knew she was going to talk to Christine and her husband, but he had not expected it to be now.

The morning before the students' arrival went very awkwardly. Everyone was still very confused about the events of Christmas Eve and Elizabeth's meeting with the staff went less than perfectly. Everyone was afraid to speak, not knowing what the reaction would be, and the topics were kept mainly to the spring play. The music instructors, as well as Meg, had written a cast list for their students, and Elizabeth looked them over happily, liking what she saw. After the meeting everyone left the room quickly, except Elizabeth and Erik, who had not spoken a word through the entire meeting.

"Are you all right, Erik?" Elizabeth finally asked.

"I just wish you had told me they were going to be here today. I would have avoided the situation. The entire town did not need to see that."

"I'm sorry, but I was afraid of what you might do if I told you."

"I have to get to my classroom." He stood up and began to walk to the door.

"Erik, I'm sorry, but if I didn't it, could have been worse. He may have wanted to fight you or kill you, had it not been in the public street with his wife standing next to him and his son near the carriage. I'm really sorry for betraying your trust, but Erik, you have to understand..."

"You may come by later when I give the cast list to the class."

"Bye Erik."

"Bye."

Elizabeth made her way back to the office slowly, saying hi to random students on the way. When it was an hour into class and she was sure Erik had given sufficient amount of time to talking over the Christmas show she walked into the music room. Everyone was sitting silently reading.

"Finally!" Caroline exclaimed when she saw Miss Bennet.

"Hello everyone, what are you doing?" She looked around.

"Mr. Erik said we couldn't find out the casts until you came, so he told us to read." Hattie replied. Elizabeth laughed lightly.

"Well I'm here now. Don't torture them any longer, Erik." He smirked and got up holding a few pieces of paper.

"First, we'd like to inform you that this year we are doing a series of seven fairy tales, so everyone will have a leading part in at least one, and two or three small roles in others. We cast this from what we thought you would do well on, and now when we compose for the plays, we will be able to make songs specifically for your own voices rather than just your section in general. Miss Bennet, would you like to tell them what the seven stories are?"

"We will be doing Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, The Frog Price, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White, in that order, in fact. Now, Mr. Erik, are you finished so they can see their parts now?"

"Just give me a minute." He seemed to be taking longer than he had needed to find them on his desk. Elizabeth walked over and picked the seven papers up. They were in fact the top papers on the table, and she just shook her head at him.

Once they were posted and the students rushed to see their parts she turned back to Erik. "You are evil."

"It's more fun that way, they were practically falling out of their seats."

"So you find it fun to torture…"

"I have to play a Grandmother!" It was Hattie. She ran over to the desk carrying, Little Red Riding Hood with her. "Why do I have to play the grandmother? I'm not even the oldest! Not to mention I have to kiss a frog in the other play."

"My casting is final." Erik said loud enough for the whole class to hear, "I believe that I cast it properly and I will not change it." Hattie handed the paper back to Emily, sat down, and buried her face in her book. Elizabeth looked to Erik and mouthed the words 'I'll handle it' to him.

She walked over to the sulking girl. "Hattie, why are you so upset?"

"I have to be a grandmother! The casting is bad."

"We wanted to give you another large role. You were already the lead princess in the other one, and we gave you the role of Grandmother, who has an entire song to herself. You also get to be one of the dwarfs who each get solos in their group numbers. You'll do great at it. Hattie, people who can play many different roles are very talented, and we believe that you can do that." The girl finally nodded and got up to discuss everything with the rest of the class.

After lunch, the students went to their academic classes, and Elizabeth came to Erik's classroom and began to work on the pieces for the show. Most of the times they would discuss it together, but sometimes she would just sit back and let Erik dream up something in his head.

Then he'd show it to her, and it would be brilliant. She sometimes felt that he would be much more capable and able to do it on his own. She however was needed because she knew these fairy tales inside out and Erik knew the main story from years ago. She helped very much with the lyrics where he seemed to take longer.

On the way home at the end of the day, the two walked mainly in silence. Finally Erik spoke up about what he'd been thinking about all day. "Elizabeth, why do you not have children?"

"Because, obviously, I am not married, Erik." She replied, slightly angered by his question.

"I know but, why did you never marry? You would make an excellent mother and, I'm sure, wife. You are so great with those children. What you did with Hattie today was amazing, I would never have been able to get her to accept the casting. I would have probably left it at 'My casting is final.'"

"Party I think that is something that most men wouldn't understand, and it's more of a female talent, but I think it also has something to do with your past, most likely. You were never treated nicely or fairly and that makes it harder for you to do that for others. It's not in any way your fault, Erik."

"That still doesn't answer my question of why you are not married. However, I do applaud you on your ability to draw the attention to myself."

"It is as simple as the fact that I never fell in love. As much as I'd love to be a wife and mother I have given up that dream rather than dwell on it. For that reason, I put my focus mainly on my work and rather than raising one or two children, I help to raise nearly fifty who benefit from their experiences at my school. I am happy with my life, Erik. I do not need your sympathy or pity or whatever other emotions you are feeling because of it."

They were silent for a minute. "Also, you should not be the one asking me that, Erik. You yourself are not married, seem to have no desire to be a father, and are older than I am, yet you work well with those children. Why is it so different that I am not married with children?"

"You should know the answer to that, Elizabeth." His voice had changed and he clearly did not want to be speaking about this.

"It's been six years Erik; she is gone and is happy where she is. There are more women in the world than Christine." She replied, almost angry that he would throw his life away for what had happened all those years ago.

"Even if I was able to get past what happened six years ago, no women could ever get past this and what is under it." he said, pointing to his mask. He then began to walk much faster and Elizabeth had a hard time keeping up.

"That's a lie, and you know it, Erik. You have been in this town for over a month and beyond their first look at you, people think nothing of that mask. Not one person has ever asked anything about it since you arrived here. The only reason it caused you problems before was because of the fear that mask brought to the opera house. Here it brings none of that." He kept walking at the fast pace and she gave up trying to keep up to him. He was never going to understand that he was not a monster because of the mask he wore.


	17. All Out in the Open

Chapter 16 –

Erik arrived home at least a good five minutes before Elizabeth; he hurried up to his room, practically barreling over the maid as she greeted him in the hallway.

He slammed his door angrily and began to pace around his room, wondering where Elizabeth got the idea that she could speak to him about not only his romantic life, but his past with Christine and the opera house.

Elizabeth stormed into the house almost as fast as Erik did, and she swerved gracefully around the maid much more nicely than the man before her had. She got up to his room and didn't bother knocking. She just barged in. "You had no right, Erik! If you thought it okay to question me, why can't I have the same ability?"

"You had no right to bring that matter which affects my life so much into it."

"It has been six years, though. You need to get past that…"

"I did not mean her, I meant this." He pointed, yet again, to his mask.

"I didn't say anything about the mask until you brought it up."

"But you, Elizabeth, pressured me into it." he replied. "You pushed too far and caused me to come back to the one thing that has plagued my life for years."

"Only because you let it plague your life, Erik. You are one of the most amazing, talented men I have ever met. You have one of the most beautiful voices in the world and I don't see why you have to ruin your entire life because of whatever you wear that mask for." Elizabeth was beginning to tear up and she was not entirely sure why.

"You don't understand…"

"No, I'll never understand why you lived the way you did and why you pity yourself so much." She screamed at him. The entire staff of the house had stopped dead in their tracks listening to the scene unfolding. "This last month has been the greatest of your life – don't deny it either – and now you can't even see that you could have lived like this your entire life. You could have lived like a normal man but instead you chose to wallow in your own self-pity and kill anyone who ever spoke of your deformity. The worst part is that you caused all that. Had you not hid in the opera house dropping things on actors you didn't like and terrorizing dancers you could have become one of the richest and most successful men in Europe. You brought everything on yourself and it has nothing to do with that white thing that covers your face. All that your mask has done is given you an excuse to hide from the world."

"From the moment I was born, my deformity shaped the outcome of my life. My mother took one look at me and I was hated. Everywhere I went I was treated differently because of this curse…"

"Your mother, I'm sure, was nothing more than a whore on the streets of Paris and whether you had been the most perfect looking child in the world you would have been nothing more to her than something she was forced to spend her 'hard earned' money on." Her voice softened and she sat down on the mattress next to where Erik had dropped seconds before. "Erik, anyone who takes the time to get to know you, and see what there is beyond the mask can't help but admire you. I do not believe that I have ever met a man as talented as you are. Once you get past the dark side of your personality that you force upon the world, you can't help but love the man inside."

"You think too highly of people. None of them ever cared to take the chance to find out who I was." He replied, barely above a whisper. Tears had begun to fall down his face as he spoke.

"I did. Doesn't that count for something?" She still had tears in her eyes and for once didn't care if people saw. The whole world could have watched her cry and all she cared about was this broken man in front of her. She put her arm around him. "Your students did too. They think the world of you and you're the only person they want to teach them. Erik, they love you."

"Why do you care so much? Why, after everything I've done, do you still want to make me feel better? I treated you horribly; I yelled at you, I hit you. I don't deserve this!"

"That's what friends do, Erik. I'm always here for you; I want you to know that. No matter what happens. You do deserve this Erik, after everything that has happened. You still deserve forgiveness from me, and you deserve to be comforted for once in your life. This isn't the Erik I know; I want the strong, quick witted, powerful Erik. This isn't you." She knew that that wouldn't make him feel any better but he needed to hear that he wasn't alone, no matter how much he wanted to be.

He stood up and walked to the far end of the room silently. "Elizabeth, I want you to go." he finally said; it broke her heart. "I am not a vulnerable person and I will not let myself be vulnerable to you."

"It's just me, Erik! I just want to help you; I just want you to be happy and see what I see in you everyday."

"I want you to leave." He said it slowly but forcefully. Elizabeth looked to the door then back at him and walked away. When she got out in the hallway, she collapsed against the wall and it took all she had in her not to scream. He was talented and amazing, but he was probably one of the most stubborn people she had ever met. He was too proud to admit that she was right and as much as she respected him, she hated him at that moment.

Erik stood in his room breathing heavily. He was unsure of what to think. Elizabeth was there for him when no one else had ever been, yet he couldn't seem to let her in. He wanted to, and he knew it. He wished he were able to open his heart to her, because she would openly accept it. He did, however, know that she was no Christine and that he could never feel for this woman as he did his young soprano. Yet he wasn't sure if he wanted to feel the same way for Elizabeth. He loved Christine, but he obsessed over her, and he forced that love upon her, causing her to react in the most obvious way; to fear him. He would never do that to Elizabeth, it was different with her. He hated her at times, but there was something more at the same time. He wasn't sure if it was love, but he wasn't sure what else to call it. He hadn't been this confused since the night he let Christine go.

Elizabeth slowly made her way to her room. She hated what she was feeling, and what she was doing to herself. She hated him, but at the same time knew she cared so much for him. She hated to admit it, but she might have fallen in love with him, and that scared her more than anything else. She had never been in love before and the thought itself almost made her sick. She had promised herself long ago that she would avoid love, hoping that she would also avoid pain.

Unfortunately, the more she ignored her feelings for Erik, the more pain she felt. The man's friendship meant more to her than most she would ever experience, yet every chance they got, they hurt the friendship that they both cherished. She doubted they'd be able to get through another month with a friendship and anything more seemed impossible. For that reason, she decided that she would fight for the friendship. Anything else would just be ignored for good.

Neither spoke for the rest of the night. Erik refused to come down for dinner and Elizabeth didn't eat her meal in the dining room anyway. She had her plate brought up to her room.

The next morning when Elizabeth woke she almost forgot what had happened the night before, but was reminded of it moments after she woke up. It was going to be a long day.

When she reached the breakfast table, she found Erik sitting silently, eating. She sat at the opposite end of the table.

"We did not get to work on anything for the show last night." Erik finally said.

"The reason for that being completely obvious." Elizabeth replied.

"I wrote some more music for it. I thought you could do the lyrics. That way we would be able to work by ourselves more often."

He set it down as he walked out of the room. Elizabeth just looked at it and sighed. She knew it would be wonderful and that the two of them would have almost no reason to spend any length of time together anymore.

She suddenly felt completely full, and hurried to get to the school to bury herself in paperwork. During lunch, she decided she couldn't put it off any longer and she looked over Erik's work. As usual, it was a work of genius and he made it very easy to write lyrics to it.

Things carried on for a week like that. Erik and Elizabeth spent as little time as possible together, and she didn't visit his classroom at all that week, which was something all the students noticed. The only productive thing from the week was that they had somehow managed to get fairly well started on the pieces for Cinderella. Erik would stay up for all hours and write the music and Elizabeth would find time to write lyrics.

On the Friday afternoon, Erik was avoiding going home, knowing that he was going to be spending the entire weekend around Elizabeth without being able to use work as an excuse. He looked up from his desk, where he was working, marking theory assignments from the class, and found Emily standing there. She began to collect her books that she had forgotten.

He looked back down at his work, but realized the little girl had something she wanted to say, because she was obviously stalling before leaving the room. "Can I ask you something, sir?"

"I though you might want to - so yes."

"Where's Miss Bennet?"

"At this time of day she is probably in her office; you know that, Emily." he replied, confused at her question.

"Of course I know that, but I want to know why she isn't coming to our class anymore. Before the break she used to come almost every day. One of my friends in the ballet class says she still visits them all the time. What happened? What did we do wrong? Can you ask her? Then we can fix it? We miss her."

Erik bowed his head and let his forehead rest in his palm. He sighed and began, "Emily, you didn't do anything. None of you. She just is busy right now, so don't blame yourselves. I'm sure that next week, Miss Bennet will come to hear you sing again."

"Are you sure?" She pried.

"Positive, now run along and get ready for dinner." Erik said, trying to sound happy and upbeat, but it hurt him to know that he had caused it and the students were blaming themselves for Elizabeth's unexpected absence.

After Emily left the room, he turned back to his work. "You're lucky she is only five and oblivious to what is going on." said a voice in the other doorway of the classroom.

Erik turned see who it was. Standing in front of him was Caroline, looking a bit angry. "Most of us, however, aren't as oblivious as to why Miss Bennet doesn't visit the class anymore." She sat down in a chair near his desk, facing her teacher. "Just apologize, it usually works."

"You don't understand, Caroline. There is more to this than you think."

"Truthfully, sir, we don't care. We love you both, but what you need to realize is that it's not about the two of you. It is about us, and what you are putting us through. It's your job to teach us, and your fight with Miss Bennet is getting in the way of what we are used to. You are my favorite teacher ever, Miss Bennet is very nice, and you two are very sweet together, but we should not have to suffer because you hate each other right now. Argue and ignore each other all you'd like at home, but here at school, we come first. That is what our parents pay our tuition for." She smiled sweetly. "Have a good weekend Mr. Erik." She got up and exited through the door she came in.

Erik sat, completely bewildered. it was not very often than he was put in his place by a twelve year old, and he wasn't sure he liked the feeling. Sadly, she was right and he knew it. Now he just had to talk to Elizabeth, and that task made him want to stay and grade papers for as many hours as possible.


	18. An Unexpected Guest

Chapter 17 –

Erik eventually couldn't avoid going home any longer. He walked as slowly as he could, and when he arrived at home, he found Elizabeth already having dinner.

She smiled slightly as he sat down; they hadn't eaten a meal together in a week. Usually, when she was nearly done, only then he would eat, or if he was leaving, she would come in. "How was class?" Elizabeth finally asked, quietly.

"It went well; it was after class that is worth mentioning."

"What happened after class?" Elizabeth asked worried.

"Nothing to worry about, I assure you, but some of our students are wondering why you are not coming to visit anymore." he began. "First Emily came in and asked, then when I assured her you were busy, Caroline came in and gave me a strict talking to, one that could rival your own."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"She thinks that just because we can't get along does not mean that you should stop visiting. I think her exact words were 'You two are very sweet together, but we should not have to suffer because you hate each other right now.' It was almost amusing except that she was quite correct."

"What on earth do you mean by that, Erik?" She asked, shocked and angered.

"Only that they shouldn't have to suffer. It has nothing to do with the way we look together. It is quite ironic though, that you, the woman who assured me I was a wonderful, talented man would sound so shocked and repulsed of the idea of the two of us looking 'sweet' together."

"I do not like you twisting my thoughts, Erik, but I do understand your point. I should not have ignored my students just because you are insufferable. Oh, and here are some lyrics I was working on for Hansel and Gretel." She set them down next to him and smiled sweetly, then left the room.

Things continued this way for much too long in the opinions of both Erik and Elizabeth; unfortunately, both were too proud to admit it. In the end, Elizabeth visited the classroom almost daily as she used to, but she and Erik would ignore each other as much as possible. Erik continued to write the music for the production, and equally as quickly, Elizabeth would write lyrics for them. At the beginning of February there were pieces for all the students to work on, as well as music for Meg to choreograph. Each play was beginning to get underway and Erik was pleased with the progress. It went more smoothly than almost any opera he witnessed at the Populaire. He had to admit that Elizabeth knew how to run her establishment.

During February, Elizabeth and Erik were forced to work closer with each other, and soon became accustomed to working together. There friendship was beginning to grow back to what it had been. In early March everything was done for the musical part of the story and Elizabeth and Erik were working apart from each other more and more. Erik was working with each student one on one, and Elizabeth was trying to balance everything from the singing, the dancing, the music, the props, the set, and the costumes. It was becoming overwhelming. This was an obvious downside to the numerous stories, the costumes and sets were seven times worse than those of the years before were.

The two began to see less and less of each other and they began to miss each other's company. In the end, they agreed to do one thing together outside of school a week just to catch up on the details they were missing.

At the end of March, the schedule was disrupted by the arrival of a small boy.

Elizabeth had gotten up extra early to get to the school because of a sizing problem in the costumes. When she arrived at the school in the pouring rain, she found something she had not been expecting.

Sitting on the front step of the school, trying to stay out of rain, was a small child. Elizabeth ran up to the shivering creature and knelt down beside it. It was a little boy who Elizabeth did not recognize at first. "What is going on, sweetheart?" She asked the child. "Why are you sitting on my step?"

He didn't say anything. She decided to take a different approach. "Why don't we go inside and get you warmed up, and maybe a nice meal?" she asked in a kind tone. He nodded.

She took him into her office where she knew there would be a fire started. Elizabeth moved a chair close to the fire and instructed him to sit while she went to go find him something dry to put on. After finding an outfit that would fit the child nicely, she returned to him where she found a tray of food had been brought by her request.

The boy sat quietly and ate. Elizabeth didn't interrupt. She tried hard to think of where she knew the child. It wasn't until he was finished, and he looked at to her and smiled, that she knew who she was sitting with. It was the young Andrew de Changy.

"So Andrew, why is it that I've found you sitting on my step in the pouring rain?"

"I ran away." he replied as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "I didn't like my school, my teachers were mean, and the other students picked on me. They said I didn't belong at their school. And my headmistress, she hated me the most. Whenever I did anything to displease her I was punished. They use the ruler there." he added with a whisper, showing his hands which were striped with red marks from the edges of the item. "I thought I would come back here because I liked it here. It was my favorite of the schools I came to. Please don't tell my momma and father though, they would be angry. They didn't like this school very much. Can I stay, please?"

Elizabeth first needed to comprehend what she had just heard. She took a deep breath and finally explained to the little boy. "Andrew dear, first you cannot just run away like that. I bet your mother and father are worried sick about you. Second, you can only attend my school if your parents agree, I'm sure if we take you back home they can find you a good school to go to…"

"But why can't I come here? Your school was the best! My parents don't even have to know. I promise I won't get you or your school in trouble." He was crying by now, and it broke Elizabeth's heart. She hated that Erik and the de Chagnys couldn't get past their history in order to give the little boy what he deserved.

She moved closer to the child and gave him a hug. She wanted to help him and she didn't want him to have to go back to school where he was unhappy. She wished he could stay here, but she didn't know how.

As she held the boy in her arms, Erik rushed into the room, looking almost like a drowned rat. He had obviously been meaning to get some information to her quickly, but he stopped abruptly when he saw Elizabeth and the little boy.

He knew instantly who the child was, as he resembled his mother so much. "W…w…what's going on?" He stuttered.

The boy sat back in his chair, wiped his eyes and smiled at Erik. He wanted this man to be his teacher very much. "Andrew, can you sit in here for a moment while I talk to Mr. Erik in the hallway?" The little boy nodded. "Thank you."

When she closed the door and the two of them were alone in the hallway, he turned to her and looked at her with his mouth hung open ,pleading for an explanation.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but somehow he managed to get here from his school in London. I found him out in the rain on the front step about half an hour ago. Apparently he ran away without anyone knowing. Oh, Erik, I feel so terrible! It is my fault he ended up going to that dreadful school. The things he said happened—!The other students picked on him, his teachers hit him with a ruler, and he was punished for almost anything he did wrong." She was crying now, blaming everything on herself.

"It was not your fault, Elizabeth." Erik began as he pulled her into a comforting hug. "It was my fault, not yours, had I not begun teaching here his parents wouldn't have sent him anywhere else." This didn't help Elizabeth and she began to cry harder into his drenched chest.

"You should not blame yourself for everything. Besides, we should not worry about placing blame on people. What we need to do is inform his family of what happened. His parents need to know where their little boy is." she told him.

Erik stiffened at the mention of the boy's parents, and Elizabeth noticed, but he did add his agreement a few seconds later. It struck him that for a brief moment then, the child was not just 'Christine's son', he was like any other child. Erik felt for him as he did any of his other students. He wanted to protect him as he would any little boy, not because of his mother. The thought made him smile, but only for a second. Maybe there was some small hope for him yet.

"I'm going to send a messenger to London right away. We'll keep him here and his parents can come retrieve him." Elizabeth said. Again, Erik tensed up and Elizabeth just snuggled tighter to him. "Erik, wouldn't you rather that Andrew stay here where we know he is safe, rather than riding in the rain and the cold? He could become ill. I know that you worry about seeing them, but you also have to realize that it is better for Andrew to stay here. You can let him attend your class and sing along with some group numbers if you'd like."

"Yes, that is the right choice; it is better and safer for him here. Are you sure he isn't ill all ready from the rain though?"

"I'm not sure." she said, pulling her head away and looking up to Erik, his arms still safely around her. "He might be ill. I should fetch the doctor right away." Her eyes told him she was very worried for the child.

"It's all right, I have acquired some skills in doctoring over the years, and I shall see if he is well or ill." She just nodded.

"I regret to inform you that we are going to have to let go of each other for that to be possible." he added a few seconds later, and she immediately pulled away and began to blush, something that he no doubt noticed.

Elizabeth cursed herself inside for blushing; she was not some silly schoolgirl who blushed at things like that.

She followed Erik in a few minutes later and found Andrew curled up asleep with a blanket being placed over him by Erik. "I'm pretty sure he is fine, just completely exhausted. We're lucky it hasn't rained all night, or we might have ended up with a much more serious problem on our hands. After some rest he might be able to join the class for their lessons this afternoon. I planned to teach the Snow White Finale song so nearly everyone is involved."

They sat silently for a minute, then she remembered that Erik had run over in the rain. "What was it you were going to tell me when you arrived? It must have been urgent because you ran over in the pouring rain. And, speaking of rain, Erik, you're drenched. If we don't get you out of those wet clothes, we will have a much more serious problem on our hands, for you will be the one who is ill."

"I will be fine. Remember, Elizabeth, I lived through much harsher things than a little British rain."

"Please, I would never forgive myself if you got sick. Oh, and you still didn't answer my question. Why were you coming here?"

"I figured out how to fix that little problem I was having in Sleeping Beauty's solo. I wanted you to know."

"Erik, that piece was fine, everyone loved it. Except, apparently, you. You shouldn't have run over here drenching yourself over a silly little song. Now I'm going to find something for you to wear."

"There won't be anything for me to wear here, the only clothing in this building is children's clothing." He called back to her.

"Absolutely not, Elizabeth. I refuse to go out in front of people wearing this. I look like a farmer."

"Fine, but let me at least see. I've never seen you wear anything that isn't black and white aside from your red robe."

"How often do you see me in my red robe?" he asked ,as he opened the door for Elizabeth to come into his office.

Her mouth dropped open in horror, not only at his comment but at her slip of the tongue. "Erik, that was entirely inappropriate, especially at school. And… oh dear! I think you are right. You can't possibly wear that in front of people." The entire outfit looked absurd on him. The dark brown pants were a little wide at the waist, but were being held up by a pair of black suspenders that ran up and down the loose-fitting taupe shirt he was wearing. She put her hands in front of her mouth to keep her laughter hidden. Instead, she managed to snort, which made her laugh even harder.

Elizabeth left the room to check on Andrew, and a few minutes later, Erik arrived, wearing his damp clothes again. "I'd rather suffer in soaking wet clothes that suit me than wear anything like that again." he said when she eyed him, annoyed he had changed. "You even said I could not wear that in front of people." She just nodded. "But I have classes to teach, I'll see you and Andrew later.

Andrew woke around lunch. Elizabeth let him eat in her office and explained to him that he was going to be staying until his parents came and got him. After lunch, he happily walked, holding Elizabeth's hand, to the vocal classroom. "Will they want me there?" He asked her when they reached the door.

"Of course they will! They liked you very much when you visited at Christmas." He nodded and she opened the door.

Elizabeth was right. He was warmly welcomed into the class, and right away, many of the students decided he should learn the group numbers for fun. Erik and Elizabeth stood back and watched how well they got along. "I do wish he could stay, I couldn't bear the thought that he might end up in another school where he is treated badly." Elizabeth said. She was being honest, but she was also curious to see Erik's reaction. He just stood there without saying or doing a thing.

Elizabeth sat in for the rest of the lesson, and had Andrew settled with Jimmy and Fredrick for the night, wondering what the next week would bring for them. It seemed that every time they got used to life around here, something was right there to disrupt it. This time however, it was forgivable since it came in the form of a delightful little boy. His parents however, would cause a much less enjoyable situation.


	19. Confrontation

I'm going on vacation starting tomorrow (26th) and I won't be back until the 5th so hopefully I can have an update by the 7th I'm sorry guys but hopefully this can hold you over...and hey it isn't a cliffie! Oh and I promise I'll give you guys responses to your reviews soon.

Margo

Chapter 18 –

The next morning, Erik and Elizabeth walked to work since the rain had let up and the sun was finally out. They talked about the upcoming show, and both were happy with the progress. Elizabeth felt much more relieved this year because Erik was such a help, but on the other hand she had seven times the work for costumes and sets. Erik offered to help her, but she refused and said that that was entirely her business and he was needed to work with the students.

Andrew greeted Erik happily when they arrived at class. He fit in very well with all of Erik's students, and they were sad that he was going to leave. No one was more devastated though, than Andrew. He loved his parents very much and Erik knew that, but he hated the decision they made in sending him to the dreadful school in London.

Elizabeth's message was sent out right away. She assumed it had reached London by then and that the de Changys would be here within the next few days. She decided around nine o'clock that morning that she would visit Erik after she went to oversee the ballet class work on some of the solos.

When she got to the class, Erik was the only one who noticed her enter. Everyone was working on parts for Hansel and Gretel. Andrew was reading the narrator parts for the story that Elizabeth was going to read. She decided that the little boy would do a much better job. She only wished his parents would give Erik the chance. She decided she would try as hard as could to get them to listen to reason.

As they went through it, some of the students finally realized the presence of Elizabeth, and they were soon too disruptive to continue.

"Apparently, Miss Bennet, you are too much of a nuisance to come into my class anymore."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Erik. I did not realize I was so popular. I would like to say though that everything sounds very good, and Andrew, you do a much better job as narrator than I do, good job." He smiled, but only for a second. Then a small frown came across his face.

In the next three days, Elizabeth stressed over what she would say to the de Changys. Her messenger arrived back the day before and she assumed that the couple would be there today. It made both her and Erik very tense.

Before class, Elizabeth met Erik in the hallway and asked him to talk to her in her office.

"What's wrong?" he asked, figuring it had something to do with the so-called visitors coming later that day.

"Do you want him to stay?" she asked right away, knowing that stalling was not going to help. "Andrew, I mean. Do you want him to stay, even though it would cause quite a bit of drama between us and well, you know what I mean."

Erik sat silently for a second; then he slowly nodded. "I do want him to stay, I don't want them to be here, but I want him to stay."

"Me too."

During lunch Elizabeth headed to the lunchroom to help out. She was very restless and she wanted to pass the time before the couple got here.

She was approached by one of the staff while she was talking to one of the ballerinas, and was told that Vicomte and the Vicomtess de Changy had arrived.

She walked over to Andrew, who was sitting with Fredrick and Emily. They were talking to Erik about the upcoming show.

"Andrew, sweetie?" Elizabeth asked. He looked to her and smiled. "You parents are here to get you." His face fell.

"I want to see my Mother and Father, but I don't want to leave. Will you two come with me and convince them that I should stay?"

"I am not sure we're the ones to do that." Erik said quickly.

"But they don't listen to me." He pleaded with his big round eyes and Erik wanted to grab him and hide him forever, just so he could stay with them. "Will you at least come to say goodbye?"

Elizabeth looked between the two, and she knew at that moment that the two of them had more of a connection than just the one of Christine, and parting would break both of their hearts.

"Of course I will, Andrew." Erik replied.

Before leaving the cafeteria, Elizabeth asked Meg to spread the word that the students were not to leave the room until she told them it was all right. She did not want anyone to hear the conversation that was bound to happen moments from now. The three walked slowly down the hall, the little boy sobbing. He reached up and grabbed Erik's hand.

In the front foyer stood the de Changys. As soon as they saw the three walk down the hall, Christine ran to her little boy, and Raoul was right behind her, his hand on his sword. Christine didn't have the vibrant features she usually had. She looked tired, and you could see the obvious effects of crying for days. When Christine reached Andrew, she pulled him into a hug, but he still held onto his teacher's hand.

"Let go of my son!" the Vicomte commanded of Erik, and drew his sword.

"Sir, if you do not put that away now, I will have you personally thrown out of my establishment." Elizabeth commanded just as forcefully as the man in front of her. "You will not cause harm to a single creature in my school."

He withdrew his sword, but kept one hand near it and his eyes locked on Erik, who had finally let go of Andrew.

"Momma, I don't want to go." Andrew said into his mom's shoulder.

"We must. Andrew. You need to return to school."

"I want to go to school here." he screamed as he got out of his mothers grip. "I hate my other school. I want to stay here with Miss Bennet and Mr. Erik."

Immediately, the sword was out again and Raoul had it pressed to the throat of his enemy. "What have you done to him? What lies are you telling my son?"

"Mr. de Changy!" Elizabeth screamed.

It was followed by the outbursts of both his wife and his son.

"Put your weapon down. Is this really what you want your child to see? Do you want Andrew to see you go mad with hatred and slit the throat of a man your son adores?"

"This is no man. He is a monster and he has poisoned my son the same way he did my wife."

"Lower your weapon, Raoul." Christine finally spoke up. "This is neither the time nor the place, and we don't know the whole story."

Raoul backed off and lowered the weapon to the level of Erik's stomach. "We know enough of the story. This man took our son, brought him here, and brainwashed him to believe that he wants to be taught by this monster."

"That's not true." The voice came from Andrew. "I ran away, father. I didn't like the school you sent me to . My teachers hated me, the headmistress hit me, and the other students treated me bad." He held out his hands for his parents to see. The red marks had faded, but they were still there and you could tell what had caused them. Christine looked down at her sons hands in horror.

"Yes, I found him curled up on the front step early the other morning. We made sure he was all right, we fed him and found him dry clothes, and then Erik checked him to see if he was sick from the cold. Thankfully, he was fine. After that, he has been staying at the dormitories with some of the other vocal students, and he attended the classes. Your son is very talented. He read the narrator parts for the show we are doing. We were all very impressed, because after a day he decided he would sing it to a tune he had made himself. You should be very proud of him."

"We are, thank you." Christine said smiling at the older woman.

"If it is not too bold to say, I would love to offer him the chance to stay for the rest of the year, for free. If the two of you, or of course he had any problems with us, you could take him away any time you'd like. We would love to have him in our school. You could see that there is truly no problem at all, and that Erik is a very capable teacher."

"Could I?" Andrew asked his father, who he somehow knew it would be harder to convince. "I really like it here; no one made me say anything. I came here because it was the only school I liked out of them all. If I stayed until the end of June, then I could be in the show, and if you still wanted to, I would go to somewhere else next year. For at least this year? Please?"

Christine looked convinced. She knew her son was not lying, for she knew better than anyone how you would act when the Phantom had control over your thoughts. Andrew was acting through his own free will. Raoul, however, could not see that.

"I will not have Andrew taught by him. Good day, Miss Bennet. We are leaving now." He turned around and walked towards the door. Christine and her son stayed behind. When he noticed he was not being followed by his wife or son, he turned around. He pleaded silently with his wife, but she refused to budge.

"I know you do not trust him, Raoul, but you must trust the word of your own son and of Miss Bennet."

"I do not trust Miss Bennet. How can I trust someone who would keep that man around as a teacher after she knew about his past?"

"You know just as well as I do that Miss Bennet sees these children as her own, and she would never harm them intentionally."

"Yes, but she has no children of her own, so she would never understand the need to protect your child over anything."

This struck Elizabeth very harshly. Erik noticed the hurt that passed through Elizabeth.

"If you feel the need to insult me go right ahead, but do not bring Miss Bennet into this. She has done nothing to hurt you. Direct your anger towards me. You have reason to want to hurt me, but Elizabeth has done nothing. Besides, had you not been so stubborn, she could have recommended a school for Andrew that wouldn't result in his being hit and treated unfairly." Erik replied angrily.

"Raoul, I know Andrew better than even you, he wants to be here. Nobody is forcing him. He wanted to be here before when we took him away and that was before he spent any time with Erik. If anything goes wrong we could take him away immediately."

"I can't believe that this is what you really want for him. It is not what I want for him." Raoul replied, shocked at his wife's actions.

"Yes, but it is not really our choice, is it? He'll do well here and you know it. As much as it hurts to say, Erik made me into what I was. He is able to bring out the talent in people. Can't you imagine what miracles he could do for Andrew?"

"I can't believe you really want me to do this, and I can't believe even more that I am going to let you have your way." He turned to Erik. "If you do anything to hurt him, and I mean anything…"

"I know, you will kill me with your bare hands. You needn't worry."

"I doubt that."

The couple took Andrew for the day, and he stayed with them at the inn for the night, but on the next day he was officially part of Erik's class. Erik and Elizabeth decided the night before that they might as well just write actual music for the narrative parts, and let Andrew narrate the story, rather than switch the casting around. He was beginning to learn them by memory.

By the next morning, Erik had a melody that echoed the one that Andrew had been singing for Snow White. He was very impressed that Andrew had come up with that himself, for that young a child he had phenomenal talent for both singing and apparently composing.

At the start of class, Andrew walked into the Vocal room with a huge bright smile on his face. He was finally part of a group where he was welcome. He was still confused about the events of the day before, and why it should cause so many problems for him to stay there, but that hardly dampened his excitement.


	20. Late Nights

Hey guys, I'm back from my vacation, and here is my next chapter, I know I promised individual replies to my reviewers but I decided against it knowing that I should get this out as soon as possible. Hope you like it.

I also want to know what you guys think on the issue of sex in the story...I can write it either way, by going into some detail or hardly mentioning it (not explicit though) It's entirely up to you guys if you want me to write it I can and if not, then I won't. I write the rating as adult and I assume that you can all read adult work becuase you've reviewed and read up to now but I just want to know what you think... I also have to say that it probably won't be in the next two or three chapters but soon after that I'm sure I'll be getting to that...I'd love your opinion thanks.  
Margo

Chapter 19 –

Everyone warmly welcomed Andrew, and they were all really excited that he would narrate the show. Elizabeth wanted very much to go down to the classroom to see how everyone was doing, but she had loads of work that she had been avoiding since Andrew had come.

Her first order of business was to head down to the classroom that had been turned into a costume room, in order to resolve some problems.

"What happened?" she asked the seamstress.

"Finally, you've had the time to come down here." The seamstress replied sarcastically. "I only asked you to come in Tuesday and it is Friday." She turned to find some costumes.

"I had more important matters to attend to." Elizabeth replied, irritated.

She brought over two costumes and some notes. "All right, I do not understand the problem. The Cinderella and Prince Charming outfits look great. What's wrong?"

"You gave me the wrong sizes! Now Cinderella's dress fits Prince Charming!" The woman screamed back at her. Elizabeth had always had problems with the seamstress but she was the only one in town.

"Remake them." Elizabeth replied rolling her eyes.

"I can't just remake them. I need more material…"

"Buy new material. I gave you money and I do recall telling you if you needed more I'd try and supply it. Now I am sorry, Ma'am, but I really need to get back to other matters."

The other lady muttered something under her breath, and Elizabeth made a mental note to bring in an out-of-town seamstress for the next year. She began to curse quietly to herself, and didn't realize that she was about to walk straight into someone.

Erik, however, noticed. Before she could walk into him, he held his arms out and stopped her by her shoulders. "Cursing is not a very ladylike trait, Miss Bennet."

"Go away, I'm busy, Erik." she said harshly and tore herself away from his grip.

He was silent for a second. "All right, I'll speak to you later."

"I'm sorry, it's just this whole thing has me very stressed. Nothing seems to be getting done. I just went to the costume room, found that the seamstress screwed up the sizes, and then had the mind to tell me it was my fault. Now I have to go figure out what to do about the sets. The so-called blue paint we received for the sky dried green, so now I am going to have to pay the painters for another week so they can redo the skies on all of them. I don't know how they managed to do them all without realizing it dried green. After that, I have to figure out seating for the show. Then I have…"

Erik put his hand to her lips. "Quiet. Just calm down. You have enough time, don't rush it. You don't want to overwork yourself. I suggest that we take a weekend. During which, we will not work on anything for the show."

"I can't, Erik, and you know it. Now I really need to get to work." She swerved around him and rushed down the hall.

She was doing too much and he knew it. He wished he could help, but she refused to give him a job to do. Eventually, he headed back to his classroom to do some one-on-one work with the children. He had managed to get permission to take each student from their studies for ten minutes once a week to work on solo songs. Today he was working with Emily, Hattie, and Fredrick.

When Elizabeth finally arrived home for the weekend, Erik wondered how she had managed to walk all the way there with the papers and other things she was carrying home. "I'll be in my study if you need me."

"You should eat first. You didn't come for lunch and you barely touched your breakfast."

"I'll have something brought up."

Erik didn't argue, but he knew she was doing too much work. He wished he could get her to take a break even if it was just for a few minutes. He decided he would not be doing any good if he just sat around and worried about her, so he headed up to the library and found something worth reading. Around midnight when he finished the book, he wondered if Elizabeth had eaten anything. He knew it really wasn't his business, but he cared for her, and the last thing she needed was to collapse of exhaustion before the show.

He walked slowly toward her room, but when he got to the corner he stopped and decided that it truly wasn't his business. He turned around and walked the other way back to his room, but then stopped again and walked back to her room inwardly cursing himself.

He didn't understand why she had this effect on him. He had always been able to decide what he wanted over what he didn't, but for some reason Elizabeth made him doubt his own decisions. Now here he was, trying to decide whether he should be proper and return to his room or if he should check her study- which he was forbidden to enter- to see if she had eaten.

He was just about to turn back to his room, when he saw that there was still light from under the door of her room. He couldn't believe it; she was still working. She really was going to get herself ill. He walked closer to the room and opened the door slightly.

At her desk Elizabeth lay, sleeping on top of all her papers. Black ink had come off the paper and now was stuck on her pale face. He also noticed that the food that was sent up to her had not been finished; half of the bun was still there, the meat had been cut into pieces, but he doubted she had actually eaten more than a few bites, and the vegetables hadn't been touched at all.

Erik shook his head and slowly walked toward her. "Elizabeth." he whispered. She stirred slightly but didn't wake up.

"Elizabeth. Wake up." He tried again.

"Erik." She whispered. He thought she was waking but she didn't stir. Now Erik was wondering why she would whisper his name while she slept. Finally, he resorted to lightly shaking her shoulder to wake her up. Her eyes opened and she lifted her head off the desk. As soon as she saw Erik she was even more confused. "What…What is…I'm confused." she finally said.

"You fell asleep while working. You need a proper sleep. I'll help you in the morning, and don't say that you can handle it alone."

"Okay, yes. I like the idea of sleep." she said, still groggily.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes, but I can't promise I'll answer before morning." She said as she rubbed her left eye.

"What were you dreaming?"

Her eyes opened wide and she very suddenly was wide-awake, and if it weren't for the lack of lighting, he would have seen her blush bright red. "Why do you ask?" she finally managed to say.

"Nothing, it was just something you said in your sleep." He grinned, tauntingly.

"Good night, Erik." she said as she made her way to the door.

"Good night, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth got into her room and dropped down onto her bed. She couldn't help but wonder if Erik was kidding about her whispering in her sleep. No one had ever said she talked in her sleep before, yet very few people ever really heard her sleep. She also wondered if he wasn't lying. What was it that she said?

It had been a very strange dream. She had been out with Erik as if he had been courting her rather than spending time together as friends. Sadly she realized that the way the two of them acted around each other, many people could assume they were a couple. The reason for that probably being that neither had ever really followed the proper rules of society- she was a woman who ran her own successful business and he was the Phantom of the Opera- they were not your average two people.

It wasn't something she could dwell on though, because they were off limits for each other. Parents would not agree to two teachers of their children being romantically involved, it was out of the question.

She took off her dress and her confining corset, which hurt her even more than usual because of the position she had been sleeping in on the desk. When she got into bed she thought once again about the dream and couldn't help but think about how she enjoyed the way his lips felt on her own. She quickly inwardly cursed herself for even thinking it.

'Calm down Elizabeth,' she thought to herself. 'It wasn't even real, how could you possibly know how his lips feel? Grow up. You are not a silly schoolgirl.' With that, she dropped her head back and landed amongst her many pillows. It didn't take long before she was asleep.

Erik didn't want to head right back to his room so he sat down at her desk. He felt like he was being rude about it and he acted as if he was being too nosy, but he also thought that if he finished some of her work, she'd be able to get back on a regular schedule.

He sat down in front of her desk and looked over the guest list. He saw that her family were all going to be coming, and he thought they should receive seats close to the front so that Amelia could see well. He had to admit that he did miss them, since at Christmas they had made everyone so happy. Caroline missed Daniel, and she wasn't hiding it. She received mail from him, as well as from Amelia, usually once a week, and Erik felt very protective of her. She had only just turned thirteen and she shouldn't be getting that serious with a fifteen-year-old boy. He also knew it wasn't his place to say anything; her parents, however, didn't care enough to worry.

He read a few more names and gave them random seats. Finally he came across Roger Wilkinson, and he really wanted to conveniently lose his ticket, but knew that it would only cause more trouble. He decided that Roger would be more suited for the back of the auditorium, rather than near the front, because he didn't come for the talent. He came entirely for the image.

He finished the guest list in only a half an hour, and he felt like he had trespassed on Elizabeth's room long enough. He peeked into her bedroom to hear her light snoring. He smiled slightly, then closed the bedroom door and headed to the outer door.

When he got into the hall, he ran into Marie.

"Mr. Erik, sir, what are you doing here?" she asked, confused at why he was leaving Elizabeth's study.

"I was just helping Elizabeth get ready for the production. She's been working so hard and when I came by about half an hour ago, she was asleep at her desk. So I offered to help. She's in bed now though, so don't worry. What are you doing down here?"

"Nothing. We do our rounds around midnight every night, it was my turn, and I was late. I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine—just as long as you promise me something?" He asked, slyly. He knew she was young, and girls her age were prone to gossip, so he was going to have to do some slight blackmail to keep it secret. She nodded. "I won't tell that you were late, if you don't tell that you saw me here."

"Yes, sir." she replied quietly and quickly, too quickly. "Good night."

"Good night, Marie." he replied and headed back to his room. She slowly made her way back to the servant's quarters.

Erik truly didn't care what kind of gossip was said about him; he was used to it. The ballet rats were much worse than anything a maid could do. He only cared that it was also Elizabeth's reputation. Having a man leave the study that attached to your bedroom was not proper, unless he was a relative or your husband, and Erik was most certainly not either.

She liked to keep her image straight, and it was not fair for Erik to mess it up any more than he already had. She had risked her reputation for him, and she deserved his protection of her dignity.


	21. Taking a Break

Chapter 20 –

Elizabeth woke the next day and found that it was late in the morning. She had been completely exhausted from the night before. She got up and dressed quickly, then planned to head for her study again. As soon as she got into the study she sat at her desk and looked for her seating list. She found it sitting at the back of her desk completely finished. After looking it over she found Erik's selections actually quite good. "Ugh! Does he have to be good at everything!" She exclaimed to herself.

"Yes! Now can I come in?" Erik said from the other side of the door.

"How long have you been standing there?" Elizabeth asked as she opened the door. She found Erik standing there with a plate of breakfast.

"I heard you get up and I knew you'd head right for your study so I brought you breakfast and you will eat it because I know that dinner of yours last night was hardly touched."

"I ate some."

"Not enough." He replied quickly.

"You treat me like a child. I don't need to be treated like a little girl."

"I'm sorry for looking out for you."

"Thank you, Erik. It's really nice of you."

"You're welcome. Now what else can I help with? I know all the inner workings of these things, remember? I spent years watching all this happen. I can help you."

"I know you can, it's just that it's not really right."

"What's not right? I want to do it."

"Before you came, Erik, I ran everything myself. I knew exactly how everything was done and my teachers did nothing else except teach. Now, with you here, I feel like it's changing and it's not fair to you, because you are doing all this extra work. The other teachers are being paid just as much as you. After everything you have done, I don't think it's fair for me to have you help me anymore because I'd feel wrong with not paying you more. I know that if I did, it would cause so many problems for the other teachers. They would believe it unfair. I can handle it, Erik, and I don't need your help. As a friend I'd love your help but I have to look at this as a business thing also. I can't keep getting you to do more than your job asks of you."

"When I came into this school and learned how you run things here, I've always felt like we as teachers are overpaid because you do everything. I've never seen someone take on this much work. At the opera house there were different people to run every section of the business and the arts side of it. You run it all by yourself and that is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen accomplished by a single person. You deserve help, you deserve to have this lifted from your shoulders. As an employee I believe it is right for me to help. As a friend, I can't think of anything else I should be doing. I can't sit and watch you spend every second you have working on this while I sit and read a book. I care for you too much to do that."

"Erik…"

"No, don't, I'm helping you and that's that." He looked toward the papers on her desk and she sat back and ate her food. "So you liked the cast list?" he said, trying to make conversation.

"Yes, it was great. How did you manage to do it without knowing these people?"

"It's easier that way. You who know nearly everyone in the town will have a habit of thinking of little details. I won't because I really don't care all that much. If someone can't see, well that is not my fault, or your fault. They can't expect us to keep them all happy. Our main concern is the children, and as long as they are all right we shouldn't keep worrying."

"It's not that simple."

"It really is. You need to look at the big picture. Does it really matter if someone can't see very well over a taller person in front of him or her? I can think of worse things that can happen. Much worse things happened in the Populaire.

"Happened, Erik? How about, you caused much worse things at the Opera Populaire?"

"Do you find that funny, Miss Bennet?"

"Of course it's funny, Monsieur. I saw you smile."

"You are the one who hired me weren't you? And you also kept me around after finding out my secrets."

"So now I'm just encouraging you?"

"Yes." The two were staring each other, trying to keep straight faces. Elizabeth didn't have Erik's talent for looking void of emotion so she began to smile, and then almost instantly began to laugh. Erik followed soon after.

The two laughed hard for a few minutes until they were interrupted. Young Marie came into the room to see if Elizabeth needed anything. When she saw Erik and her employer sitting closely, laughing about something she immediately began to blush and began to turn, pretending she had never entered, but Elizabeth had seen her.

"Hello, Marie, what would you like?" she asked as she tried to calm herself down. Erik looked at the young maid and he easily saw her blush. He knew she was thinking about the night before.

"I was just sent up to see if you were finished with your breakfast, and if you wanted anything else, Miss."

"No, Marie. I'm fine, Erik, do you need anything?" Elizabeth looked to him and he noticed that the girl wouldn't make eye contact with him.

"No, I'm fine, Elizabeth."

"Thank you anyway, Marie."

"Just call if you need me, Miss." Marie said before hurrying out of the room.

Elizabeth was silent for a second but sighed after a few seconds. "I wonder what she has done now." Erik gave her a questioning look. "She was acting very distant and she wanted to leave the room quickly. The last time she did that she had broken a teapot my mother had given me years ago." Erik just nodded and decided not to mention what happened early that morning.

"All right. Well, why don't we get back to work? What were you planning on working on today?"

"I need to send the tickets out to families and other guests today. Last year I had them sent out by this time and people have been asking."

"Now that is something that I can easily help with. How about I do that and you take a break?" She gave him an annoyed look. "Or maybe I'll do that and you find something else to work on."

"That's a little better." She replied. "I'm going to write a few letters to a few tailors I know. Our costume designer is getting overrun, and now she is starting to get too angry about it. Another hand would move things along better."

"Also cost a lot more, remember."

"Don't worry, Erik. I can handle it."

"I know you can, I don't believe there is anything the world could conjure up that you couldn't handle." he replied seriously.

"Oh, is this a compliment I'm hearing? I should get this in writing, since it hardly ever happens." He shook his head at her but didn't respond.

She got to work writing letters to a seamstress she knew from a town nearby, asking for the help. She even offered to send the materials so that this lady would not be forced to leave her home. She also decided to write a letter to the supplier of their paint because the last thing she needed was for the men to order the wrong color again just so they could receive another week's pay.

Erik worked on the tickets. It wasn't a difficult thing to do. He had a list in front of him, and names to go with it. It was a very dull jobh but he figured that if he was able to get one more thing off Elizabeth's mind he might be able to get her to stay on a regular schedule and not overwork herself like she had been doing for the last week or so.

After about five minutes, he was done with all the families of the students, so he leaned back in the seat and took a break. He looked over to Elizabeth , who was leaning over her desk intently. He couldn't help but notice things about her he never had seen before. Firstly that she hardly wore any type of make up to cover her features. He had seen many people wearing cosmetics before, especially performers. Going without any worked very well for her. Makeup would probably make her look stunning, but without it she looked natural, and that seemed just as appealing to him. He also noticed how she bit her lip when she was slightly displeased with something that she couldn't figure out how to fix. After a minute or two of watching her, she turned her head to him and looked confused. "Are you finished already?"

"No, I've only got the families of the students done so far."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Taking a short break, am I allowed to take breaks?"

"I'll let you get away with it, but just this once." she replied, then turned back to her sheets of paper. She knew he had been looking at her, and now she felt uncomfortable. She didn't mind the positive attention from him. Up until recently most of their actions toward each other were very negative, but for some reason his looking at her made her nearly blush.

He soon turned back to his work and began to work on the lists for the members of the town who would be attending. Elizabeth had finished her letters. Before having them sent, she turned to look at Erik, much as he had done minutes ago. He, however, was not as oblivious to people as she seemed to be and noticed her looking almost immediately before she could ponder different features of him.

"Are you finished already?" He asked, jokingly.

"Yes, I am." She replied, matter-of-factly.

"And now you've what, decided that you need to oversee that I am doing it right?"

"Of course Erik, I can't have you making more work for me." She paused for a minute. "I am going to have this sent out. I'll be back up in a few minutes." She headed down the stairs and looked for someone to send the letter away. The staff seemed to all be elsewhere so she headed up for their quarters.

She hardly ever went there, not because she thought them inferior, but because she believed that they deserved their privacy and that they didn't need her skulking about all the time. It wasn't right; people deserved privacy no matter what their job.

She headed upstairs and heard voices behind the doorway into one of the rooms.

"No I'd swear on my life that it happened." Elizabeth recognized the voice as Marie's. She was about to knock when she heard the rest of the statement. "I was running late doing my rounds last night and when I went by Miss's room, I ran into Mr. Erik. He was not only in her hallway, but leaving her study."

"That doesn't mean anything." One of the older cooks said. She was married and logical enough not to believe the silly stories from the mind of a young girl.

"Of course it does! The study attaches to her bedroom. I knew from the beginning that the two were together. It is too improper for Miss Bennet. She would never invite a man who was not her husband to live with her unless it was for her own personal benefit. Besides, you have to believe me. Just go past her study and you'll understand."

"You stop talking like that, girl. It is going to get you in trouble." It was the old butler. He was a sweet older man that Elizabeth had known for years, and she had let him stay at the home after he was too old to do his job any more. "Miss Bennet is better than any other master or mistress you could have. She treats you well and you best stop spreading rumors about her."

"It's not a rumor. Mr. Erik even told me to not say anything…"

"Then you shouldn't have said anything, you silly girl. I will have nothing to do with this. Get back to the library and get cleaning. We don't want to hear any more stories of yours. Even if there is an affair going on with the two of them it is none of our business. Frankly, I'd be happy for Elizabeth, she is nearly an old maid and needs some love and excitement in her life." It was the cook again.

Elizabeth had heard enough and finally knocked. There was a brief silence, then the sound of rustling behind the door. Finally it was opened. "Good morning everyone, I need these letters sent out. Kenneth, do you have to time to ride today?"

"Yes, Miss. I'd gladly do it." he replied cheerfully, and took the papers from her.

Elizabeth looked to everyone else in the room, which, as she suspected, included nearly all the staff. "Well, I shall see you all later." She turned to leave. "Oh, Delores, could you prepare steak for Erik and me tonight? I have not had it made for such a long time."

"Of course I would." she replied happily. Before she left she gave Marie a stern look, then slipped past Elizabeth.

"Oh and Marie, the library really does need a bit of a tidy." she added, just to make it known that she had heard the conversation. She loved her staff very much, including Marie, but the girl needed to grow up and stop her immature gossiping.


	22. Unmasking

Chapter 21 –

On Sunday, Elizabeth and Erik sat in the dining room, unsure of what to do. They had finished most of the things she had wanted to get done for the week. He worked very efficiently and once again, she was grateful for his presence once again.

"What would you like to do today?" he asked during a particularly long silence.

"I'm not sure. We could go for a horseback ride, but I'm not really in the mood." Elizabeth answered.

"So why would you suggest it?"

"Because, after all the help you have given me, I owe you, and if you really wanted to go for a ride, I'd agree."

"You choose." he said, somewhat childishly.

"You know, sometimes you make me want to…"

"Don't finish that." He responded, unfazed by it. She eyed him but then playfully threw a piece of toast at him. He hadn't been expecting it and he ended up with jam across his sleeve. "So now you want to paint me with strawberry jam? It's very appealing."

"Painting…hmm, I've got an idea. Erik, go upstairs and put on your worst outfit."

"Are you claiming I own outfits that are bad?"

"Fine. Put on your outfit that is the most worn out."

"That's better, but what for?"

"I've got an idea, but it's a secret." She smiled and hurried up to change. Erik slowly finished his breakfast and went upstairs afterward. They changed, Erik into the outfit he had left Paris with, and Elizabeth into an old dress that was worn from age and full of holes through the bottom of it.

"Put this on." She handed a blindfold to him.

"You would like me to put that blindfold on." It was a statement rather than a question.

"Yes, and you will." She gave it to him. He held it in his hand but didn't put it on. "Please." She added, with a hint of disappointment on her face. He frowned, then sighed, but finally put it on his face. He didn't see the smile on Elizabeth's face, but he felt it when she jumped into a hug. "Thank you." Immediately she backed away, feeling like a stupid schoolgirl again. Luckily he missed seeing her blush.

They traveled for a few minutes until they stopped. "Why are we at the school?" Erik asked.

Elizabeth whipped around. "What? How can you possibly know that? Did you take the blindfold off?"

" Elizabeth, I've come here every day since I came to the school, and half the time I take this carriage. I think I know how long the trip takes."

"Fine then, but you're still keeping that on." She got out and he followed without help. She walked ahead of him to the school and held his shoulder going up the front steps.

As they walked, he remembered where he was. And as soon as he smelled paint he knew exactly what they were going to do, but he stayed quiet for Elizabeth's sake. It meant a lot to her, so he stayed quiet.

"Okay, take the blindfold off." She said. He did and saw the. smile on her face. She looked so excited.

"Oh, we're painting are we?"

"Yes, we have nothing better to do and I think that we can do most of it today. Then I won't have to pay those lazy painters for another whole week."

"All right." He was not one to do laborious activities like this, but for her it seemed he'd do almost anything. "We have to be quiet though, because some of the students are here for the weekend."

"I know Erik." He just smiled and headed towards the paint. He grabbed a brush and she followed suit, then opened the blue paint. He began to paint the bottom of one of the sets and she climbed up on a ladder to do some of the higher ones. After a minute she turned to Erik. "Can you pass me some more paint?"

"Sure. Here you go." He grabbed a can of paint and held it up to her. She reached but she just didn't have long enough arms. She reached even farther forward, felt the ladder tipping, and screamed.

Elizabeth and the ladder were now falling towards Erik. He grabbed her arms quickly and pulled her harshly towards him, and fell backwards so that the ladder didn't land on either of them. Elizabeth landed hard on top of Erik, then got paint dumped all over her back and in her hair. When she looked up from the crook of Erik's neck she saw that she had the better end of things. She had paint all down her back, but he had it all over his face. "Oh dear," was all she could say. He opened his eyes and the bright blue of them stood out even more than it usually did. "Are you all right, Erik? I'm so sorry, I thought I could reach."

"I've been better." He finally groaned. "Better question, are you all right?"

"Thank you." was all she said. She could hardly move. Then she saw the look on his face. "Oh, Erik, I'm so sorry, the paint should come out, though." Her face changed and her mouth opened but she didn't say anything. Finally, after looking frantically around amidst the paint, she finally spoke. "Erik, your mask." His hand was immediately at his face and he looked frantically around for the mask, too. Elizabeth found it under her skirt and picked it up, handed it to him, and immediately it was on his face. He refused to look at her. "Erik, I'm really sorry…"

"Don't…" He replied, still not looking at her. He stood up and headed to walk away. She got up after him and went towards him, but slipped on another puddle of paint. He quickly turned to help her up. When she was safely on her feet, he turned towards the door again. She grabbed his wrist.

"Erik, stop!" she exclaimed loudly, and pleaded for him to look at her.

"I'll be back at the house. I'll be busy for the rest of the day." Tears began to stream down her face.

"Erik, I didn't see anything! Your face is covered with paint. Please don't leave." Neither of them saw the girl standing in the doorway behind them. She grabbed his wrist to stop him, but he pushed her away by her shoulders.

"Miss Bennet—Sir—are you all right?" It was Caroline. She covered her mouth immediately, knowing she had interrupted a private moment, but she was startled to see them covered in blue paint. She was blushing. "Miss? Sir?"

"We're all right, Caroline. Could you get us some damp cloths to get the paint off?" Elizabeth replied.

"Yes." Caroline ran off the other way. A few other teachers and students came in to see what the bang was. The two didn't notice all that much, they were both in shock and didn't know what to say. Elizabeth had lied to Erik, she had seen his face, and it did shock her, but she refused to let him know that.

By the time Caroline returned with damp cloths, Erik had left and Elizabeth sat on the ground crying. "Here, Miss Bennet," She handed the cloths to her and Elizabeth took them. "Thanks, Caroline, you should maybe go to your room."

"Yes, Miss." Elizabeth stayed in the room. She locked the door, then collapsed on the floor again and began to cry. She didn't even know why. She felt pity for him, but he would never accept that. She felt horrible that she had seen the one thing that he had tried so hard to hide from the world. It was his biggest secret and she had intruded. She needed to talk to him. She couldn't let them avoid each other for another month or two.

She dried her eyes and headed back toward the carriage. She didn't speak to anyone on the way out, although she knew she was getting strange looks because she had blue paint smeared all over her, including the marks of Erik's hands on her when he pushed her away. When she got to the carriage, Caroline ran out to her. "Miss Bennet! Miss Bennet!" she called after her. Elizabeth turned around. The girl was crying. "Is Mr. Erik leaving? What happened? He can't leave we need him! What are we going to do without him?"

"Caroline, don't worry. We'll be back at school tomorrow, I promise. Both of us will."

"Goodbye, I hope everything turns out all right." Caroline replied weakly.

Elizabeth turned and bent down to her level. "Everything is wonderful, don't worry." The girl nodded. Elizabeth got into the carriage and Caroline stood watching as she drove away. Sometimes she thought that the girl was so young for her age. She deserved consistency in her life and she had never gotten it.

When she arrived back at the house, she walked inside only to be mobbed by the staff. "Miss Bennet, what happened? Mr. Erik was in minutes ago and he was covered in the same blue paint. He seemed very upset. He hurried upstairs and we haven't seen him since."

"How long ago did he come in?"

"Maybe fifteen minutes, Miss." Elizabeth nodded and headed towards Erik's area of the house. She had barely gotten into the hallway when he swept past her, a suitcase in hand.

"Erik, Erik, stop, wait!" She chased him down to the stables. "You can't leave, Erik."

"I shall send you money for the horse and the suitcase. Do not try to contact me." He replied in a monotone voice that Elizabeth couldn't read.

"Erik please, what about the students, they need you, the school needs you. You can't leave."

"The music is written. They can easily learn it."

"Erik, please."

"I can not stay and you know that."

"Why not, nothing important happened, I didn't even see."

"Yes you did, you're lying to me. I saw your face, I saw the look of horror the rest of the world has given me. You are no different than any other person who has ever seen beyond my mask." He screamed it at her savagely.

"Yes, I am, Erik."

"You are not."

"Yes, I am. You know it. Erik, it's not horrible. I was scared of your reaction, scared of what would happen. I knew how big of a deal it was." She changed the subject. "Erik, you have paint all over you, you can't just leave. You need to get it off, it's getting into your eyes and it might…"

"Don't!" He moved away from her and continued to load his things onto the horse. "I will not stay, and I think I can manage some paint."

"Erik please, it's not a big problem, we can just pretend that it never…" She began desperately but she was cut off.

"Pretend it never happened? Elizabeth, I cannot pretend that this never happened. You would never understand what I have gone through, you can't ever understand. Since I met you I've been trying to hide this from you, but eventually everyone finds out. Everyone sees it. When that happens, it is a sure sign that I need to leave."

"Erik, please! You can't go. Do you know what happened after you left? Caroline chased me down the walk and begged me to make sure you came back. You'll break her heart if you don't, and you know it. Erik, you love them as much as I do, and they need you, they have gotten to be amazing performers since you came into their lives. I can't run this school without you, and you know that. Erik, we need you, and even more than that, I need you. I can't do all this alone. You need to be there, I have never had someone as talented and amazing as you in my life. I've never had a companion like you, Erik. I need you in my life, Erik, and I know that you need me."


	23. Confessions

Here you go guys, this is chapter 22, keep in mind it hasn't been to my beta yet, I just thought that you had all waited far too long again. I've actually got chapter 23 started (yay me!) but it may not be for a few days as my boss has decided to book me for another night this week, and I've got a million and one things to do for my classes. (note: don't ever get involved in performing arts….too much work! Ha-ha just kidding, I live for that stuff!) Anyway, now that you all are probably thinking…why am I reading her little rnat at the beginning…here's the chapter:

Chapter 22 –

Erik stared at her with a blank unreadable expression. The tears running down her face made it even more real, it wasn't a dream; she was here and begging him to stay. No one ever wanted him to stay before her. Then it hit him, how many things had he never experienced before meeting Elizabeth, she gave him everything that he valued in his life. Before her, all he ever had was a twisted dream of him and Christine, who was terrified to be around him. Now here was this other woman, standing right in front of him, she knew everything that he had hidden from the rest of the world, but she had never pried it out of him, and she had seen his face, but didn't scream, or faint, or run; in fact, she had done the opposite, she wanted him with her. But she just couldn't understand, no one would understand.

"Erik say something." Elizabeth said as the tears still ran freely down her face.

"You do not need me; no one in this world needs me. The world and you will be better of with this monster." he replied in a monotone voice.

Elizabeth couldn't take it anymore, her sadness was steadily becoming anger, she reached and tore off his mask before he even expected it she threw it into a pile of hay. "THIS DOESN'T MAKE YOU A MONSTER ERIK!" She screamed. "EVERYONE HAS FAULTS; YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW LUCKY YOU ARE THAT YOURS ARE PHYSICAL FAULTS. Who cares that people have treated you unfairly because of the way you look, half of world would kill to have an ounce of your talents, and you hide from the world because of what? This," she gestured towards his face. "You don't even know how well you have it." Before she knew it he had her by the throat against the wall of the stable. She couldn't breathe but she refused to break the eye contact they had. When she felt like she could hardly take it anymore he let go and her body collapsed to the ground.

He walked over to the pile and put the mask on his face then looked back to Elizabeth. "You have no right to pretend like you understand. This mask is who I am and you have known that from the moment I met you. As I said before, you don't need me, you need companionship, and there are others that can be better company than me. I can't see that you have a reason for needing me around."

"But I don't want them Erik, I want you. For a genius I can't believe how naive and stupid you can be." The statement shocked him almost as much as the removal of his mask and he didn't speak. "I love you Erik! Is that enough reason for you? I can't live without you, and I think that somewhere in there you need me too."

"I'm sorry Elizabeth, you're going to have to learn to live without me, and you will soon realize you are not in love with me. You will be okay." that was the last thing he said. He jumped on the horse, kicked in the side, and rode off. She ran to the doorway and watched him slowly disappear. She stood out in the rain that seemed to have started sometime between the time she had arrived home and now.

After a few minutes she found herself strolling around in the garden completely soaked and the blue paint leaving a trail behind her. She had told him the one thing she had refused to tell herself in the last few weeks. He meant more to her than anyone, and he rejected that. Elizabeth hadn't felt this lost in the entire course of her life.

Erik rode quickly and slowed down when he was out of sight of the house he had called home for the last months. The last things Elizabeth said to him were relaying in his mind over and over again. 'Love' he thought, 'she couldn't possibly love me, no one could love this monster.' That word monster was the other thing that was stuck in his head, she refused to let him call himself that, not only had she been the first to tell him to stop using that word about himself, she was actually the first person to not call him that themselves.

She was different! It was the thought that finally hit him about an hours ride away from the mansion. Elizabeth was different and the concept of her loving him wasn't completely impossible. He might in fact have feelings for her. he always thought love was the way he felt for Christine, but now that he really had the time to consider the concept of love he lusted for Christine he needed her to sing for him, and he obsessed over her beauty, was that really love? It was, he reasoned, but not a healthy form of it. With Elizabeth he was able to talk to her, she treated him as an equal, not once did he ever have power over her. Even more importantly, she trusted him around the most important things in her life, her students and her family.

She never had once pried him to see his face, she just let it be, today when she had first seen it she didn't scream of faint or act like any other before her, she looked at him as she always had, in fact it wasn't until a few seconds later that she even noticed it wasn't on. With Elizabeth, she treated him the same either way. She had given him everything even when he tried to push her away. It wasn't impossible; no, it was probable that she did love him.

This new enlightenment made him realize even more now than ever that he was hiding from the truth. He the brave Phantom of the Opera who had seen more horrors than many would ever see was afraid. He was afraid to admit he loved her back. Love had brought him nothing in the past, and now when love had given him the chance to have everything he could have ever dreamed, he had run away.

Erik immediately stopped the horse and turned him around. He needed to get back to Elizabeth, he needed to get back to his life.

Elizabeth sat on a cement bench that overlooked a group of rosebushes that had yet to bloom this spring. It was here that out in the middle of her garden in the pouring rain that she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up, looked to the sky and screamed as loud as she possibly could, there was no one there to hear, and no one to understand.

She dropped down to the ground and laid back staring up at the grey clouds letting the rain hit her face. it was the lowest point in her life and for once she felt like death didn't seem as horrible a fate as it always had.

Erik rode as fast as the horse would take him back to Summerside and when he was in the stables he jumped off the horse took the saddle and bridle off in record speed patted him on the neck the headed to go find Elizabeth.

When he got inside he found the staff in the kitchen talking. "Sir, where have you and Miss Bennet been?" Asked the old butler Harold.

"She's not inside the house?"

"No you and her never re..." Erik was out of the room in an instant. He knew she didn't come after him because the horses were all still there, she wasn't in the stables when he arrived back. 'don't let her be in the garden.' he thought to himself as he ran looking for her in the pouring rain, somehow though, he knew that's exactly where she'd be. "Elizabeth!" he screamed in his booming stage voice, even that could probably hardly be heard over the rain, and besides, if she were out here in the garden for as long as he was gone he feared she probably would not be able to hear him two feet away from her.

he searched frantically and had a glimmer of hope when he saw something in the grass b the old willow tree and the rose bushes. it was Elizabeth, she was positioned as if she had been looking up at the clouds. He ran to her and found her body lifeless, but he still felt a faint pulse and soft breathing. He scooped her up smoothly and ran her as steadily as he could to the warmth of the house. He stormed in the front door and into the sitting room where a large fire was burning. He set her down by the edge of it and took off her soaking cloak. After removing her clothing down to her undergarments, where he dared not go any farther, he got up and met Marie at the door, she had seen them come in and he told her to change her clothing and wrap her up in some thick wool blankets. He went to the stables grabbed his bag and changed his own clothes then headed back to the sitting room where Marie and Delores were adding wood to the fire. He thanked them and dismissed them from the room.

"Sir maybe we should stay to help," the older lady said protectively. She wasn't sure about what happened earlier and she didn't want to leave Elizabeth, a girl she partly helped to raise, with him alone.

"I can handle this, she will be fine." Erik replied.

"We just are worried and we want to make sure..."

"Please?" Erik pleaded almost childish, his voice cracked and the old lady felt some sympathy for him.

"Just promise me you'll come get someone if you need help."

"I will." He replied, the ladies left the room, he closed and locked the door and headed to tend to Elizabeth.

When she was as warm as he figured she would get without time he sat down right next to her and spoke quietly to her. "I'm so sorry Elizabeth, this is all my fault," he began his rant. "You were right, I need you in my life, and you're so different from everyone else. You see me as Erik, not as the Phantom, not as a murderer or anything else that the rest of the world does. you've given me everything I've desired, you've showed what it it's like to live. I love you Elizabeth, I need you to wake up please. I never meant for you to get sick. Please just wake up." He continued as tears trailed down his face. Soon, even he became tired and he added two logs to the fire then laid down next to her.

He knew he was exhausted but he was still very worried for her and he tried hard not to fall asleep, if he did nod off for a second he'd feel a nonexistent move of Elizabeth he'd wake up and check that everything was alright and Elizabeth was warm. he was feeling fairly cold himself, so he un-tucked a blanket around Elizabeth and wrapped it around himself, he moved a little closer to her making sure she was still warm and soon he fell into a deep peaceful sleep.


	24. Calm Yet Terrifying

I really hate this chapter, I wrote this chapter three times since I updated last and none of them have given me what I wanted. It was really bothering me, but I chose this one to post, I know where I want to go after this chapter but I couldn't figure out what to do. I actually don't mind the first 1500 words of this chapter but finishing it off is what I hate...I guess read and reply...tell me what you think, I may even rewrite the ending again! I'm not really sure...just tell me what you think.

Chapter 23 -

Elizabeth woke confused of where she was, she saw the fireplace full of old embers next to her and she was wrapped like a newborn baby. The events of the night before came back to her. She remembered Erik leaving and her walking aimlessly through the garden. What had she been thinking? She looked up to the ceiling and recognized the patterns of the sitting room ceiling. How had she gotten here? How had she gotten into her pajamas? And even more importantly, who had saved her?

She tried to roll over but found the blankets prevented her from moving. She shifted back and forth until she could break free and sit up. In doing so she pulled the blankets away from the sleeping figure next to her. "Erik?" She exclaimed as he stirred from the cold. He looked to her and saw the smile on her face.

"That was a dreadful wakeup, you should practice being a little more subtle," he replied with a smile.

"Why are we on the floor? Better yet, why are you on the floor next to me?"

"I didn't carry you up to your bedroom."

"Obviously, otherwise I'd be in my bedroom Erik."

"I figured this was a better room as you were soaking wet and the fire was stronger in here. Of course we never would have had this problem had you not been out in the rain for over an hour, we would have been able to talk, and we wouldn't have to skip school today."

"Oh dear! Caroline! What time is it?"

"About Ten O'clock I think." He looked towards the clock and nodded.

"Oh Erik I promised her you'd be back at school today, she saw you run out yesterday and she was worried you'd leave so I promised her you'd be there today, how is she and the rest of the class going to react without both of us there?" She began to get up, Erik put his hand on her shoulder.

"You're not going anywhere, the last thing you need is to go back out into that rain. I can go if you'd like."

"Truthfully Erik, I wouldn't like that at all." She replied bravely, he smiled slightly and she didn't miss it.

As if on queue, there was a knock on the door. They were silent as they listened for the butler to open the door. They heard him mumble, and then he headed towards the sitting room and knocked again.

"Yes?" Erik asked.

"Sir, miss, you have some guests." He replied calmly.

"Miss Bennet, Mr. Erik, let us in!" It was Andrew.

Elizabeth stood up and Erik followed quickly. Elizabeth straightened her dress and walked to the door. She opened it and stared down at the students. "Just because you are not at school does not mean you don't treat Erik and I with the same respect as you would if you were in a classroom." She said commandingly, but not angrily.

"We would be, but we got to class this morning and we had no teacher." Jimmy replied. "We were going to work on my solo today."

"Alright, we still can, but Miss Bennet was caught in the storm and cannot leave the house because she may get ill. You are welcome to come in and work on the show with me, Elizabeth, can watch." Erik replied.

"I think we can do that, I'll have my staff make you a lunch. We have a show in a matter of weeks."

"We like that idea!" Fredrick said excitedly. Erik sat down at the piano and Elizabeth hurried to go speak to her staff, that were not at all with having to accommodate for 11 extra mouths to feed, but they were happy to see Elizabeth awake a healthy so they did it without complaining.

She spent the rest of the day watching Erik as he worked, he was amazing at what he did, and everyday she was able to discover that fact again. He never let her down when it came to them, in truth he had never really let her down at all, they had been through their rough times, but they had always gotten out of them better than ever. Elizabeth began to think about the night before and she was worried about the conversation that was bound to happen between them later that night. She was extra thankful that the kids had shown up, had they not, Erik and her would have gone through the awkwardness that morning and it might have hurt the situation; now they had time to think it through, as well as see why they loved this life so much.

Nearing three o'clock, Erik decided he should accompany the students back to the school. Elizabeth reluctantly stayed home and had the staff get ready for dinner, she decided her and Erik should eat in private in her study. The staff gave her a questioning look but again agreed with her request.

Erik arrived home angrily and slammed the door, Elizabeth rushed downstairs and his feature softened a bit. "I hate adults!"

"You sound like and eight year old Erik, what are you going on about?" Elizabeth asked calmly.

"Supposedly it is wrong for us to be working from your house and you'll have a group of angry parents when you return to work."

"And I'll deal with them when the time comes, but right now, Erik, we need to talk." She broke eye contact with him before saying the last of that statement. He just nodded, she hadn't been looking at him, but she knew his response.

They ate in silence, the awkwardness that they had from their first dinner had come back, only this time, the silence scared Elizabeth more than ever. She had not heard the things he said to her the night before.

Erik could see the upset in her face and broke the silence. "Last night, after I found you in the garden, do you remember any of it?"

"No, I don't remember much after you left on the horse yesterday."

"Then there are some things you need to understand first…everything you said yesterday to me…"

"I know Erik; I never should have said it out loud, before that moment I didn't even realize I thought that way, I'd do anything to go back to the way we were…"

"Well we can't go back to that," her face fell. "I don't want to go back to that." She looked confused. "You've got to understand that it's hard for me to let people in and it scares me even more now that I've let you in, but Elizabeth, I trust you, I know that you'll never try and hurt me and that I can trust you, and that I can love you."

"I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"Last night when the staff said you hadn't come inside the house was the scariest moment of my life, I had nothing before you, and you gave me everything I could ever imagine, you gave me happiness, and in that moment I thought I'd lost you and I thought I'd lost everything I love. What you said to me yesterday afternoon I realized was the same as what was in my heart; it just took me a few minutes longer. I said it all to you last night and it came out less crazy and more organized than it does now, but for the first time in my life I am scared of what you could say."

"Erik, you already know how I feel, how could what I say change scare you."

"Because I'll never understand how you can love a monster like me."

She hated how he used the word, but she figured screaming at him again wouldn't get the point across. She ran her fingers from the tips of his hair along the side of the white mask. "This will never make you a monster." She continued to run her hand down to just over his heart. "This makes you a better man than any person who has ever called you a monster."

Tears began to fall down the perfect white of his mask, "why is it that you can see all that when I can't even see it in myself?"

"Because everyone gives up on you Erik, you gave up on yourself years ago, but I'll never give up on you." She bent forward and kissed him, he was surprised at first but soon began to kiss back; she could taste the saltiness of his tears but it made her want to kiss him harder.

They continued to kiss for a minute until Elizabeth broke it breathing harshly. They starred at each other for a moment without speaking. She could see the love, but also the lust in his eyes. She knew what he wanted and she knew it was what she needed. She smiled slightly then grabbed his hand and stood she slowly walked toward her separate bedroom and his face turned from the love and lust from seconds ago, to confusion. 'it's okay,' she mouthed.

They were now in her bedroom and he stepped forward farther into the room, she stayed near the door. Elizabeth stood a few feet away from Erik next to the wall, she was unsure of what to do next, she was blushing horribly and Erik noticed. "Oh you silly little girl, Miss Bennet I must say you're blushing like a schoolgirl." He said trying to lighten the mood, he was just as scared as she was.

"You called my a silly girl on the first day I met you too, I assure you Erik that I am neither silly nor a little girl."

He smirked but took a step closer to her, he pressed up close to her pushing her into the wall. He bent his face down close to her ears and whispered seductively to her. "Maybe not in mind, but I know that your body is still that of an innocent little girl." He seemed to go through a complete change from the scared man he was in the room next door, he was in complete control. This only caused her to blush even worse than before and turn her head away from him.

He smirked again and took advantage of her exposed neck. "Don't worry though; you are not alone in that sense."

"Of course not, you surely are also an innocent little girl." He growled at her and began to suck harder at the tender spots on her neck. This caused Elizabeth to moan and when she heard herself she blushed again.

"Don't be embarrassed, it's always good to know I'm doing something right." Elizabeth moved her hands up to cup his cheek and the side of his mask. She wanted to ask him to take it off, she wanted to see all of him, show him that it didn't scare her, but she loved every part of him, whether she saw it or not. She lifted herself up onto her tiptoes and kissed him hard on the lips.

When they broke free from the kiss, she kissed along his jaw line on his unmasked cheek. Her hand was still placed firmly on his mask while she let her other hand drop to run down his spine.

Erik had left his guard down to let her explore him but wanted to take control again. He grasped her hand that was on his mask and laced his fingers between hers. He took a step backwards and she moved away from him. She looked up to meet his eyes wondering why he had pulled away. Before she could say anything he turned around and led her to her own bed.

When they reached the bed Erik stopped and Elizabeth sat down. From that position she seemed so much more vulnerable to Erik but she had no fear that he would take advantage of that. He bent at the waist and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead.

He took a step back from her still holding her hand. "Elizabeth this is wrong."

"Erik, I want this as much as you..."

"I know, and I know that it seems like the right thing to do, but this is wrong. You are an amazing women Elizabeth and in doing this I am no better than that Roger Wilkinson. I want you very much, but I want you in every way possible, not just your body." He kissed her hand once more and he headed for the door. He hoped she wouldn't say anything because he did not know if he could resist her if she asked him once more.

"Erik." He stopped but didn't turn to look at her. "I love you." He finally turned to meet her eyes. Her expression was hard to read she didn't seem hurt, but there was a hint of confusion and disappointment, and at the same time he saw a glint of happiness.

He nodded to her. "You know how I feel."

"Say it Erik, please."

"You mean more to me than I could ever imagine. My heart and soul are yours." With that he saw the confusion and disappointment disappear and all he could see was her love written all over her face.

He walked back into her study and leaned against the closed door breathing heavily. His life had completely changed in a moment and he was even less sure of what would happen in the next days of their lives.


	25. Closure

I am so sorry for the long wait on the update but it has been a crazy month. My theatre class was putting on Chicago and it has been crazy. On top on that I have had a lot of work (I work retail and it's Christmas) so I've kind of just put this aside for a while, but I have Christmas break and then exam break, so I should be able to get some updates soon. This chapter is just clearing up the loose ends with Christine. I'm not a big fan of this chapter, but I'll post it anyway.

Chapter 24 –

Elizabeth woke the next morning wondering if what she had been through the night before was all a dream, had she really been that consumed by lust. Then she thought to Erik, he had been so proper about it all and it made her smile to herself.

"What may I ask are you smiling about?" He asked as he stepped into the room carrying what Elizabeth assumed was breakfast.

"And what may I ask are you doing trespassing in my private area of the house?"

"I was going to bring you breakfast but I've decided to eat it entirely by myself and you can go downstairs to the kitchens. I of course you know have a huge appetite."

"Oh be quiet!" Elizabeth said as she grabbed a piece of bread and began to nibble on it. "Erik?" She finally said after an awkward silence.

"Yes?"

"We can't let this change anything, at school we need to be as professional as possible."

"Of course, we are always professional, we were able to be professional when we despised each other at Christmas, and we can do it now."

"Okay."

They carried on a light conversation for the rest of the breakfast then Erik excused himself while Elizabeth changed and soon they both headed for the school.

"Will you visit the classroom today?" Erik asked as they got out of the carriage.

"Would you like me too?" She flirted.

"Well, so much for your brilliant idea of acting professional."

"I'll probably visit after lunch today."

Elizabeth headed to her office where she found Christine sitting quietly starting at her hands.

"What are you doing here Mrs. De Changy?"

"I'm sorry I really needed to come, Raoul has no idea I am here but I needed to speak to you."

"Of course, is it about Andrew?"

"No." Christine replied simply. Elizabeth knew who she was referring to, but she didn't want to say it out loud, especially not now. "It's about Erik."

"I know." Elizabeth replied.

"It's not that I am unhappy with Raoul, I have cared for him since we were children and we are very much in love and of course we both love Andrew beyond anything. It's just, Erik was a huge part of my life for many years and I just need to know that everything is really okay with him. I do really love him in a special way and…"

"Don't say such things here." Elizabeth cut her off. "You can't do this Christine. I understand that you and Erik have such a past together and there will always be a connection between you two, but he is happy here. He really is happy here, you even being here hinting towards what I know you are trying to say can ruin this fragile existence we have here. It has been years and he has finally gotten past what you put him through, and you either need to get past all of this, or get as far away from Erik as you possibly can."

"I understand and I do want to let it go, but he was such a constant in my life for years. It has been hard not having that right now. I want him to be happy."

"He is! You need to come to the realization that he really is happy without teaching you, these children at this school have given him something that he has never had before. They accept him as him; even you could not do that. This school will not be the same if we lose him. Christine, you are a smart women, do not risk your happiness and his over this."

"Couldn't we just talk about it?"

"Why do you ask me? I am not his keeper, I don't control what Erik does."

"Yes but I need the opinion of someone who isn't directly involved to help me."

"Talk to Meg, talk to anyone, but I warn you, everyone will give you the same answer, he is past everything that happened between you two, especially now." Elizabeth was beginning to cry and Christine whose head had been hung for the last few minutes of the conversation saw the tears in the older women's eyes.

"You care for him very much don't you?" Christine asked quietly.

"Erik is what makes this school and my life perfect. He has some horrible moments of anger and it is so hard to get him to open up, but everyday when I watch him with those children, he becomes truly in his prime, he was born to teach and these students would not be where they are in school and life. They need him, I need him and he needs to be here. Why don't you come with me this afternoon and watch him in class."

"No, the two of us being there would make it awkward for him."

"They are practising in the theatre today and we can sneak in the back and watch, he most likely won't even know we are there."

"Alright, I can come back after lunch."

"You know what? We can sneak out for the morning; we really should talk outside of the school." Christine nodded. The two headed to the only café in town and had a morning snack.

"Miss Bennet?"

"Elizabeth." Elizabeth corrected her.

"Elizabeth, what changed him?"

"He got out seclusion all he needed to know what that there were people out there who would be accepting of him and treat him as more than just the Phantom of the Opera. You know he is an amazing singer, accompanist, and composer, all he needed was to just be able to show others that." It was around ten in the morning and the two were sitting awkwardly at the café table.

"Would you like to come over to the house, we can eat lunch then go back to the school." Elisabeth offered. Christine nodded.

Christine looked even more awkward and out of place when they arrived at the house.

"It's alright Christine, yes, he lives here, yes you have a past but you can't ever expect to get passed that if you don't begin to accept that you will come into contact with him at some point in time."

"I understand, but it's still hard, I've already said that he was such an influence in my life, but I never knew anything about him, now I'm starting to learn more and more about whom he really is and that scares me."

"Why?"

"I don't even know; it's all so confusing."

"It's okay, you are still fairly young Christine, you don't know a lot about things like this, you lived a fairly sheltered existence in your life and yes Erik put you through a horrible ordeal, but you have grown up since then, you are married and you are a mother, you need to let it go. Only then can he truly let it go."

"You love him don't you?" Christine finally gathered the courage to ask Elizabeth what she had wanted to all morning."

"I do, very much."

"And he loves you?"

"Yes, but it's hard for him, and if you try and regain your relationship with him, it will not only break your husbands heart, and eventually yours and his, but it will break my heart beyond repair. He is happy, and I understand that you want assurance of that, but I've dedicated the last few months of my life to making him happy."

The two were quiet with each other for the rest of the morning and through lunch; they hardly said a word on the way back to the school.

When they went into the theatre after lunch they found Erik and the class working on the finale group number for Snow White. Erik cut Aurora off during one of her long notes.

"What's wrong?" He asked, her notes were fading rather than get stronger as she went.

"They don't feel right." She replied.

"They sound perfect, you just need to have more confidence in yourself, and even if you do sing the wrong note, the audience won't know, as long as you sing it loud and confidently, then they will think that was how it was supposed to be. It is your solo, if you change it a bit from the way it was written I'll know, and your classmates will know, but the audience will think you did it perfect." The girl nodded.

Christine and Elizabeth took seats in the back row and sat and watched, Christine looked awestruck. After about an hour, she turned to Elizabeth. "Thank you." She said simply, it brought a huge feeling of relief for Elizabeth.

"You're welcome."

They both turned to watch for a bit longer. It was another twenty minutes before anyone knew they were there.

"Miss Bennet? When did you get here?" Julie asked as she ran up the stairs on the way to the washroom.

"Mum?" Andrew asked as he looked up towards the three at the back of the room."

The feeling in the room changed immediately, Erik was almost terrified to see Elizabeth sitting with Christine and refused to look back toward the seats.

Elizabeth who sensed the tension immediately tried to lighten the mood. "Well I promised your teacher I'd visit today and Mrs. De Changy here wanted to observe the class firsthand in order to help decide if she'd like Andrew to stay next year."

"Oh please let him stay." Brianna exclaimed and the rest of the class quickly followed with similar statements.

"Well thank you." Christine said calmly and got up and left the room almost silently.

It was almost the end of class and Erik could not focus his thoughts so he did the first thing that came to his mind. "Alright, well now that Miss Bennet is here you won't be able to stay focussed, so I'm going to dismiss you early." They hurried out of the room, Elizabeth still hadn't moved from her seat.

Erik made his way slowly and silently up the stairs and knelt on one knee next to her. "I'm sorry Erik, she came into my office this morning and she wanted to talk, so I've spent the whole day with her and I wanted her to come see this class."

"What did she want to talk about, is Andrew going to leave?"

"No. She wanted to talk about you. I guess she has had a lot of things to think about since Andrew came to school here and she says she loved you in a 'special way' whatever that means. She wanted to make sure you were happy and I told her you were so I brought her here to show her, and I don't really know what I was thinking I'm sorry. I just didn't want her to do anything that would ruin her relationship and of course ours I don't know how I could possibly live with that."

"Don't apologize. I understand your worry, but I also want you to know that you have no reason to worry. Yes, I love Christine, but that 'special way' you were speaking of is not the way I love you, I cannot really explain it. We have a history and that history is one of the largest reasons I became who I am, and I will never forget that, but I do love you. She may have changed me six years ago, but she never was able to make me into what you have. I would still be an unhappy monster who had nothing to live for, instead I am becoming the man I always wished I was able to become.


	26. Morning After

Ok so I have officially gotten passed horrible filler chapter and I hope It isn't to 'filler'ish. Anyway, I am tired and I need sleep I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 25 –

The next morning Elizabeth and Erik shared a silent breakfast and they both felt as if there were so many things that just weren't being said yet neither of them could bring themselves to do it.

It was getting down to the last minute for the production, both Elizabeth and Erik knew they were getting into the busiest two weeks of the year and they decided that as important as their relationship was, they needed to focus on the show.

That day in school Erik was working with Meg trying to put the two parts together.

"Erik, you have to re-block that or they will keep running into each other." Meg said annoyed.

"We can't re-block it, she needs to be center stage or else it won't work. For goodness sake she is Cinderella, and it is her song and she needs to be the star. The dancer is going to have to move." The entire two classes were sitting silently watching their teachers argue over who was standing where.

"We can't move her or we will have to redo the entire dance, it won't work Erik."

"Fine, don't move her, tell her to keep out of the center of the stage, get her to make smaller steps, if she ever wants to make it in dance then she will need to learn to be accepting of the wishes of the composer. I told you after I gave you the music for this piece that they singer is in the center." Erik replied angrily.

"Alright, that's enough." Elizabeth yelled as she walked into the room, "What is wrong?"

"Well your dance instructor here has decided that her dances are more important than the singing and that they were going to run into my singers numerous times." Erik replied. "And Meg here refuses to move little details so that the star of the play goes in front."

"Meg is there any possible way you could…"

"No surprise that you'd take his side, I swear him and the music students are the only ones you have paid any attention to in the last few months." Meg replied in an extra strong French accent which seemed to accompany the girl when she was upset.

"And what is that supposed to mean, I love all of these students equally, and I treat them that way."

"Oh really, then why is it that you never visit our classroom anymore? Why is it that when the costumes for the music kids were done wrong you ordered more fabric and when they sewed half of ours wrong you have her re-sew them?"

Elizabeth was losing her temper and she turned to the students. "Could you all please go to the hallway and take a break?" When they had hurried out she turned back to her ballet instructor.

"I visit your classroom as often as I can, besides your students connect much better with you than they do with me, and the problem with your costumes was too expensive to get new material, I am sorry that you feel left out but I am having a really difficult year and…"

"Only because he came here."

"Well yes it has a lot to do with Erik being here, but he is an amazing singer, you know this, and you also know that this school isn't the same without him. You have no idea how much he has helped on this show. Now we are going to get passed this problem. What happened?"

"Well she sings standing right in the middle and Erik refuses to move her even a foot so that I don't have to teach those girls new choreography two weeks before the show."

"Erik, is there no possible way that she could move for only a moment in the song, we could bring her right back to center right afterward."

He looked at her stunned. "Fine." He replied simply then headed back to the piano, Elizabeth went to the doorway and brought the students back in.

She didn't stay for the rest of the afternoon, believing her presence was going to cause more problems for the two teachers. Instead she went to her office and busied herself doing small random jobs to keep herself busy for the rest of the day.

Erik left as quickly as he could that day and arrived home before Elizabeth had even left the school.

When she did arrive home she found him pacing at the front door, he was lost in thought, but she did not miss the anger that spread across his features. "Erik whatever are you doing?" She asked hoping to lighten the mood.

"Nothing, just trying to figure out what I am going to do about the scene from Cinderella."

"Erik, she took one step over it doesn't take any focus away from her."

"No but it does however cover the entire scene behind her between the prince various of the ladies at the ball."

"Erik, it's only for a second."

"Yes but I blocked it that way for a reason and today in order to avoid being the center of gossip you completely undermine me. Just because the ballet teacher made a comment about us you get terrified. What are you planning on doing once the term is over, lock me in the house so that no one sees us together?"

"Erik I love you I would never try and hide that."

"Then how would you explain what happened today, you practically denied you even cared for me."

"No I just resent the fact that she believes that I pay attention to the music students more than any other student. I don't do I?"

"I don't know." He replied frustrated. "All I know is that today you decided that my blocking was not good enough for you and to avoid conflict you sided with her. The only reason she refused to move the girl is because she is her best ballerina and she didn't want her to have to dance in the back of the chorus. She puts her in the front all the time, and on top of it, the girl pouts and acts like a seven year old if she doesn't get her way. I don't want her taking the focus away from Caroline."

"Someone who pouts and acts more like a seven year old more than Caroline?" He turned his head viciously toward her. "Alright, maybe not the best time to joke." She added afterward. "I'm sorry Erik, It's very hard to keep everyone happy, especially you, its been hard to keep you happy when we were friends, now it's much bigger than that, everything I do I'm afraid that if I say the wrong thing or make the wrong person angry at either of us I'll lose you forever. I'm scared Erik, what if I did lose you? What would I do?"

The conversation had turned away from the issue at hand and Erik could do nothing to control it. He worried nonstop for Elizabeth, but he never imagined how much it terrified her that he was on the run, or that it scared her that he might get caught. "Don't worry about that, I won't get caught. Nothing will happen. I have been able to escape the law up until now haven't I?"

"Well yes obviously, you've been doing fine for six years, but now it scares me bacuse if you had to run away and escape from police again I don't know what would happen? Would I go with you, because life without you seems impossible? Or would I stay here for my students, because I can't leave them? Don't you see Erik, I need you to stay out of trouble, and Meg Hartford has the ability to expose all of this."

"She wouldn't."

"She might, how do you know?"

"Because her mother is my oldest friend and Madame Giry would never forgive her daughter if she told police where I was. She spent the better part of her own life protecting me and as much as she loves her daughter, she would never forgive Meg if I was jailed because of her.

"There is so much about you I don't know isn't there?" Elizabeth finally asked after a short silence.

"You are very good at changing the subject my dear."

"Apparently so are you."

"It's my job to be mysterious." He replied stepping closer and wrapping his arms around her.

"And I learned from the best." Elizabeth replied and pulled his face down to a kiss.

"Surprise!" Screamed a voice beside them a moment later. They turned to find Amelia with mixed expressions on her face, she looked happy to be there with her aunt, but she looked embarrassed of what she had seen.

"Amelia!" Called Daniel. "Next time you can carry my bag since I've been carrying your for nearly this whole trip." He looked to everyone else in the room. "Why is everyone so quiet?"

"Oh my goodness, what a surprise! What on earth are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked as she looked from one face to another.

"Well your play is in less than two weeks and we wanted to get here early." Jane replied walking into the room. "The children are finished with their studies and we wanted to come see you as fast as possible." She added.

Erik's eyes watch as Amelia told her brother a secret in his ear, then the boy looked quickly over to him and Elizabeth. "well, hurry in hurry in, there is no need for us to be freezing in the doorway." Elizabeth said as her brother walked in the door. "David, what a nice surprise to see you all." The all came into the room and had a small snack.

"Can Amelia and I go up and visit the school?" Daniel asked as his parents and his aunt got into a boring conversation.

"Whatever for? You have never wanted to go anywhere near the school before." Elizabeth said looking at the children.

"I'm sure it will be fun." Daniel pleaded almost desperately.

"Not by yourselves," Jane said to her son. "and us adults don't want to watch you all night."

"I'm fifteen I can make it to the school and back with my sister perfectly fine. Besides she doesn't even have to come."

"Daniel!" Amelia exclaimed.

"I could accompany them to the school if you don't have a problem with it?" Erik offered. "I have no need to stay for this conversation."

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth asked.

"As long as it is alright with their parents." He replied and turned to Jane and David.

"Okay, you go get ready, but don't let them keep you for too long alright Erik?" David asked. Erik just nodded.

The three walked fairly quietly until they were halfway there. "Do you like my aunt?" Amelia asked looking up toward Erik's face,

"Amelia!" Daniel hissed then gave her a look that kept her quiet. "Sorry, she still doesn't think before she speaks. She seems to believe that you and Aunt Elizabeth are in love and kissing in the front foyer of buildings."

"You shouldn't doubt your sister so much." Erik said to the boy. Daniel nodded but ehn realized what had been said.

"So you were kissing my aunt?" He asked shocked. Erik just nodded.

"I told you so." Amelia replied. "I'm not a liar."

"No you're not." Erik began. "The closest thing to a liar in this group is your brother. Now Daniel, please explain why we are really going to the school."

"I miss her."

"Of course you do, anyone would miss Caroline, she is a great girl."

"Daniel likes her, he writes her love letters and everything." Amelia jumped in. She got a hit across the head from her mad and embarrassed brother.

"You wouldn't know, you don't even go to the same school as me." Daniel said with a laugh.

"Well, if it means anything, she misses you too, and I know right away in the morning whether or not you've sent her a letter. She is much happier when you do."

"I think we should hurry a bit more." Daniel replied starting longer strides his sister could never keep up to.


	27. Homecoming

Chapter 26 –

"So how long have you liked my aunt?" Amelia asked.

"You talk too much for your own good child." Erik said shaking his head.

"Of course I do, I'm ten." He laughed. He looked up to see his face, she had never heard him laugh, he seemed different from the first time she had met him. Something about him had changed. "Erik, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, but you just did." He looked forward again and Amelia didn't know what to say. "Ask me another one though."

"Why do you wear a mask?" She asked as she stepped a bit farther away from him hoping he didn't get angry.

"I have my reasons." He replied through clenched teeth. He refused to let himself lash out at the girl; she was harmless.

"I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it, I'm sorry, forget I asked."

"I cannot forget that you asked. If you must know, no one gets to see my face."

"Even Elizabeth? Has she ever seen?"

"That is not your business Amelia." Daniel scolded his sister over his shoulder as he hurried ahead of the other two, although he was just as interested in knowing the truth.

"I'm sorry, let's hurry to the school; I want to see my friend almost as much as my brother." They arrived at the school just as Daniel had gotten inside and took of his boots; Erik made him wait for them. He was nearly shaking in anticipation.

"Where would the students be?"

"In the dining hall, it is time for dinner."

They hurried to the dining hall and Daniel burst inside. He didn't spot Caroline right away, but Amelia did, "Caroline!" The girl called, she hurried over and pulled her friend into a hug, Daniel hurried over after her.

He pulled her into a hug and spun her around. When Caroline was safely planted back on the ground, the two shared a quiet whisper as they spoke leaning their foreheads together. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips that even surprised Caroline. Erik stood by and was given a look from one of the other staff members. He nodded and stepped closer to the students. "I don't believe this is the time or the place for this." He said with a smile. "Go to the hallway. If you must do this, please avoid doing it in front of your five year old classmates."

"Sorry Mr. Erik." Caroline said as a red blush came across her face.

"Don't apologize; just go in the hallway child." Erik said as he hurried them away from the rest of the class.

"Sir!" One of the staff members called to Erik. "What may I ask was that?"

"I'm sorry Madam," Erik said calmingly. "I was not expecting that, I will keep them in line once I get out into the hallway."

"Thank you, and don't let it happen again, or I will be forced to tell Miss Bennet."

"By all means Madam, tell Elizabeth, it is in fact her nephew." He replied as he turned to leave the room. Amelia followed, giggling as she went. When the two got out into the hallway Amelia burst out into a full blown laugh that caused Erik to smile.

"Did you hear her? Could you imagine if she told Elizabeth what just happened? She murder Daniel!" The girl said laughing.

"Yes, she would definitely be somewhat upset, now where did your brother and Caroline go from here?" He looked around and saw them down the hall a ways. He hurried over to them. "Caroline, you for sure know better than that. Daniel, you should know better too. Now, you go get washed up and finish your studies for the night, the three of us are leaving."

"I'm not going anywhere, I just got here." Daniel replied angered.

"You most definitely are coming with us. You are nearly a grown man and you know better than to act like that in front of a room full of children."

"Just because you have been kissing my aunt does not mean you are allowed to tell me what to do."

"Daniel!" Amelia cried. "Just come." The boy looked back to Caroline, said a quick goodbye and then he followed.

Caroline stood in the hallway in a daze. Ay first she was shocked to see Daniel, now she was shocked that he was gone. Soon after though, a huge grin came across her face about what Daniel had said. Erik and Miss Bennet were finally kissing. She made her way back into the dining hall to finish her dinner. She had to tell someone.

"What were you thinking Daniel?" Amelia screamed at her brother. "You cannot just say things like that."

"He cannot tell me what to do!"

"You are still a kid, no matter how much you think you're a grown man you are still in school, and I am pretty sure that I know more about the world than you. Besides, your little show in there is not going to go over well with your mother or father, and especially not Elizabeth; she could get in a lot of trouble with parents of other students if this gets out. You want to be known as a grown man and taken serious, yet you act like a child in that school." Erik snapped at the boy. He then turned around and practically ran back to the house, he was ready to snap, and he didn't want to hurt anyone, especially not the children.

When he arrived at the house he burst into the front door and Elizabeth hurried to the hall to see what the noise was just as Erik rushed up the stairs in a rage. The children walked in a few minutes later, both looking miserable. "I'll be a minute." Elizabeth said to them. "Your parents are in the other room."

She hurried up to go find Erik he wasn't in his room however, she found him playing harshly on her private piano. "Please don't hurt it Erik. I like that piano."

He slammed down as hard as he could on the keys causing Elizabeth to jump backwards. "Calm down Erik." She said afterward. "What happened?" She asked as she sat down next to him on the piano bench.

"Oh, your wonderful nephew caused a huge stir at the school."

"He usually does. What did he do?" Elizabeth recalled a few years ago when he brought a bird into the building and it flew around for the entire day before anyone could get it out.

"Oh well he rushed into the dining hall swept Caroline off her feet then decided to kiss her in front of her five year old classmates. One of your overnight staff of course then blamed me, so I rushed the two out. On top of that, after the four of us were in the hallway I requested that we leave to avoid further trouble and Daniel took that moment to tell everyone about what Amelia saw when she walked into the front room today."

"He told Caroline we were kissing?"

"Yes, he did, and I can assure you that she will most likely tell all of her classmates by tomorrow morning." Elizabeth did not reply; she just sat taking deep breaths. "We can just deny it." He offered, not knowing what else to say.

"No we can't. They are smarter than that, and we cannot lie to them."

"I know."

"I'm really tired all of a sudden." Elizabeth said. "I just want to get some sleep."

"I'll stay with you until you fall asleep, then I'll go deal with your family." He helped her to her bed then sat down at the end of it.

"Come closer." She said. "Hold my hand." He moved higher up on the bed and put her small hand inside his.

"Your hand is cold."

"Yours is surprisingly warm."

"Okay, be quiet, go to sleep." He kissed her forehead and then sat silently as she drifted into a sleep.

When she did finally get to sleep Erik stroked her hand lightly for a few minutes longer, then wiped a strand of hair from her face and headed back downstairs.

"Where's Elizabeth?" David asked when Erik returned alone.

"She was tired and decided to get some sleep."

"Oh, alright, maybe we should get you two to sleep too, you had a long day." Jane said looking towards the children.

"Mother it is only 6:30." Amelia complained.

"Alright, one hour more then you can go get ready for bed."

"That is still only 7:30! I'll never be able to fall asleep."

"You can read a book."

"I brought nothing to read." Daniel complained.

"Well had you not caused a scene you would still be visiting with Caroline, so either you stop complaining, or we'll send you to bed right away." The father said forcefully.

"Yes Sir." The replied together.

The two went into the other room to play a short game of cards and Erik was left with David and Jane.

"So Erik, has the relationship with my little sister changed since I last spoke with you? I've heard rumours."

"In other words, you have spoken to your children while I was upstairs."

"Yes, my husband just cannot keep a secret quiet." Jane said happily. "Honestly Erik, we are very happy for you, Elizabeth deserves to be happy, and I am sure you deserve it just as much, I'd love to see the two of you settled down."

"Does your sister, or myself strike you as they type of people who would ever settle down. She is a Lady who runs her own successful business, and I am a forty-year-old drifter that n one knows anything about. We will never be the type to settle down."

"Then that would explain as to why you are perfect for each other." Erik just nodded and excused himself. He went outside for some fresh air. As it got darker, he headed back toward the house. Just as he reached the main door he saw a figure heading away from the house. He eyed whoever it was then dismissed it as a staff member leaving for the evening. He went back into the house and found Amelia sitting by herself with the cards.

"Where is your brother?"

"He left a little while ago saying he had somewhere to go, so I thought I would play alone for a while."

"Would you mind checking if he is in his room?" Erik asked the girl, it would be improper for him to do it himself. She nodded and hurried away. When she came back she told him Daniel was nowhere to be found.

"Do you think he is okay?"

"I'm sure of it, now you should get ready for bed. I have a book that you might enjoy to read before you sleep." She smiled as Erik handed the novel to her.

Erik grabbed his coat and hurried after Daniel, who he was sure was the person leaving the mansion. He also knew where he was heading. He headed toward the school following where he was sure the boy had gone. The streets were dead and it reminded him of the quiet and the darkness he used to live under, it comforted him, but it also worried him because he refused to go back to that life. He was too happy here with the school, his students and Elizabeth.

He turned to final corner to the school and headed toward the front doors. However, he heard a noise in the alley next to it. After looking to the door again, he decided to investigate the alley.

"I'm so glad you were able to sneak away." Said the voice of a boy.

"You too, are you in a lot of trouble, I'm sure Mr. Erik didn't go lightly on you." Said a girl.

"I think he wasn't too upset about you and me, he was just upset about me telling everyone about him kissing Elizabeth."

"I've always wanted them to fall in love, they were so great together."

"Caroline, I do not want to talk about My aunt right now."

This was Erik's cue to move from the darkness and make him seen. He was not however, expecting the sight he saw. Instead of seeing the two in a cautious teenage kiss, he saw Daniel had Caroline against the wall kissing her far too strongly for her age, or his for that matter. "Ahem." He made himself know.

The two stared at him frozen. Both were breathing heavily and Caroline looked terrified. Daniel looked as if he were going to be sick. The two children were still too close for his comfort. "Daniel, move toward the other end of the alley and wipe the lipstick off your mouth. Caroline, close your mouth." The two did as they were told. "Now someone please explain to me the situation I just witnessed. Please explain to me how you got under the impression that this is alright for CHILDREN your age. You are not adults and you are not married. Caroline, you are barely thirteen you have no idea what sort of situations you could get yourself in if this continues. You get back to your room and Daniel come with me."

"Are you going to tell anyone?"

"I should go straight to both of your parents and explain the situation I witnessed." Their faces fell. "However, I will keep my mouth shut for now, but if I witness anything like this again, your family will be the first to know." He motioned for Caroline to go to the school. He followed directly behind Daniel the way home. As the reached the hosue he decided he should talk to the boy. "Daniel, I know I am not family to you, and you do not want to hear this, but I love the girl, she deserves better than being treated like a common whore on the streets of London or Paris. You know this, how would you react to find out that she was with child and you were not able to take care of it. Do not ruin her life, or yours. I know you care for her, but it in the best intentions for you both to avoid that."

"Yes Sir, I just really like her, and my classmates were saying…"

"Do not listen to a group of boys who know nothing about your feelings. Caroline, and you deserve better than that." Daniel nodded. "Now go to bed." He hurried in after the boy.


	28. No time to Breathe

Chapter 26 –

Erik watched Daniel hurry up the stairs before he turned to enter the sitting area where he figured there would still be the remains of the evening sitting around. It was easily cleaned up. Sometimes he wondered what the maids in this household really did.

He went up to his room early. The show was in twelve days and he found that even he, the phantom of the opera, who hardly slept his entire time under the opera house, was exhausted.

Elizabeth woke comfortable in her room a little late the next morning, in fact, she had slept in past the beginning of the school day. Sitting up quickly she noticed the note that had been set with a rose on her pillow.

Elizabeth

I couldn't wake you, you were so peaceful. Please do not bother coming to the school until you are well rested, you deserve it. Daniel and Amelia came to the school today but I'll put them to work, and they won't be able to watch the rehearsals, I want it to be a surprise for them. Your brother and his wife decided to visit the town for the morning, so you are the only one home. See you in a few hours.

Erik

Her first instinct was to storm down to the school and yell at him for making this decision for her, but the comfort of her bed was so inviting and she figured it would be nice to stay in it for a few minutes longer.

She fell back again and rested for a minute before she planned to get up, that was when she realized what Erik was really doing. He was going to make sure there was no damage to her image in society by talking to the children before Elizabeth had arrived.

She was right, Erik had a long talk with his class, who knew the whole story, and were very happy about it, as soon as class began that day. Caroline had told them everything she knew, and Erik assumed, everything that Daniel knew as well.

"Sir, we think you and Miss Bennet are very sweet together, why would we cause any problems for you?"

"I hope you don't expect me to answer that, now we have only ten class days left, we need to rehearse, let's hurry onto the stage, we are running all of Snow white before ten." Erik boomed and they were up in a flash.

"Sir?" Emily asked.

"Yes?"

"Are you and Miss Bennet going to get married?"

"Take your place backstage Emily." He replied in a powerful, but not threatening voice. The girl practically skipped behind the curtain.

Elizabeth arrived as soon as they finished the last number of the run through and walked straight up to Erik. "How did your morning go? Was it eventful?" He could tell she was mad.

"Nothing worth speaking of that I can think of." He replied and turned his attention to the students. "Do you think we can run The Frog Prince before our midday meal?"

"Of course Mr. Erik, what do you take us for amateurs?" Andrew Billings said with a grin.

"Andrew." Elizabeth warned.

"What did I do?" Asked Andrew de Changy.

"Not you dear, the other Andrew."

"I as only stating my opinion" the older Andrew stated.

"What did you say?" Andrew de Changy asked.

"Just go to wherever you need to be boys." Erik commanded and Elizabeth mouthed a thank you. It had become an interesting situation to have two boys with the same name. "And you," he directed Elizabeth to a seat in the front. "Sit."

During the meal, Elizabeth went to visit her niece and nephew who had been recruited to sew last minute costume touch ups, and paint any props respectively. They were having fun and she left them to their work.

The next eleven days flew by and Elizabeth was awoken by Erik early on the performance day. "Good morning."

"Hello dear, why are you in my room."

"I haven't slept all night, and at about four o'clock this morning I realized that you and I have not had any time alone in these past weeks." He sat down next to her as she sat up. "So for the last two hours I have been pacing my room wishing time would go by faster."

"You could have visited earlier."

"I didn't want to wake you too early. I can survive on very little sleep, you need your rest. Once it reached six o'clock though, I couldn't stay away."

"Well I am happy that you have very little self control."

"I have a great deal of self control. If I want to hold back I will."

"But unfortunately you never want to." He shook his head. She smiled and moved closer to him until she was sitting right behind him. "Why don't you lie down with me and we can get another hour of sleep so that I don't look too horrible tonight."

"You never look horrible. But if you insist." She laid down again and this time he followed. She curled up next to him and draped her arm around his upper torso. She could tell he was tense. "It's alright Erik, just calm down. We've been this close before." He didn't reply but after a few minutes he seemed to loosen a bit and she fell asleep until he woke her up at seven. "Did you sleep at all?" She asked.

"No, you know that I don't need too much sleep."

"Do we really need to get up now?"

"Yes, the entire school, students and faculty, would panic if you didn't go, and if I don't go I'll have eleven very disappointed students." He replied with a sigh. "You get ready and I will go get us something to eat."

"Stay?"

"You know I can't, it isn't…"

"You can, you just won't. Erik I'm not a silly teenager. I have thought about this deeply and I am ready. I and not implying that we just into bed right this second, I just mean that I don't take this lightly, you must know that when I say I am ready I am ready."

"Yes, but we will wait until the right time, for now, you get dressed and I shall get us a nice breakfast. Would you like to eat downstairs or in your study?"

"We can eat downstairs." She watched him walk away and sighed trying to figure out what to do about him. He knew she loved him, he loved her back but he didn't want her, maybe he just wasn't attracted to her. She cursed herself for even thinking it, Erik loved her and he was just protecting her, she would just have to show him she didn't need protecting.

When they arrived at the school everything was in an uproar, they traditionally did the dress rehearsal during the school day of the show, so the hallways were full of students and costumes.

"Mr. Erik! You're finally here." Emily came and wrapped her arms around his legs. "It's so horrible, Caroline lost her voice!"

"What!" Erik boomed causing almost the entire hallway to go silent.

"Erik, quiet, we will deal with this." Elizabeth said calmly, she put her arm on his shoulder and the two hurried after Emily who lead them to the music room.

Caroline was crying the rest of the class was standing not knowing what to do. Elizabeth went to the girl. "What happened dear, you weren't sick yesterday?"

"It's my fault…we didn't…we wanted to celebrate…what are we going to do?"

"Quiet Caroline, slow down, you need to talk slower, who is we?" She was pretty sure who the girl meant, but she needed to hear it herself. Caroline didn't answer. "Daniel?"

The girl nodded. "We went out, but we got caught in the rain and had to wait until it ended which wasn't until nearly two in the morning. I'm sorry."

"Hattie!" Called Elizabeth, "you need to do the understudy for the dress rehearsal, Caroline is going back to bed and we will get her as well as we can for tonight."

"I don't know the songs."

"We just need you to do the blocking; it won't be hard, just read her lines from the script and stand at her place on stage." Elizabeth looked to Erik who was furious, but he just nodded in agreement. "Okay, Jennifer can you bring her back to her room and I'll get the kitchen staff to get her some tea."

The two stepped into the hallway. "I should kill him." Elizabeth stated. "He knows how important this is, he knows that, why would he do this? Why would she?" She was ready to cry. He pulled her next to his chest and she felt comforted in the action.

"Elizabeth I…" It was Meg. "…I uh, never mind. I'll ask later." She turned and hurried the other way.

"The rest of the world won't let us have a moment to ourselves will they?" Elizabeth mumbled into Erik's chest.

"No, but they have a point, after this week we are done. After the show they will finish up their academic studies and I am out of a job."

"Only until next school term right?" Elizabeth asked alarmed.

He saw the concern and fear on her face. "Of course." He pulled her closer and felt her loosen. "I am not going to leave you Elizabeth."

"Good." She replied sounding childish. He ran his fingers up her back comforting and soon he pulled back and they both had to get back to the real world. Elizabeth sent word to the kitchen that

They hurried down to the auditorium and Elizabeth went to sit in the front row while Erik headed to the organ. The show started. After they finished Cinderella things went much better, Hattie didn't know the part well enough and Elizabeth prayed that Caroline would feel better in a few hours. The rest of the shows went by without any problems. If Cinderella went well that night everything else would work out.

During the lunch period Erik approached Elizabeth. "You should talk to your brother and your nephew, I have something I need to do, I'll see you afterward in the classroom and we'll see if Caroline is any better."

"Alright, where are you going?"

"I'll be back don't worry."

"I'm not worried I want to know."

"You cannot know yet, I will tell you later." She just nodded. He hurried off and she decided to head home and speak to Daniel. When she arrived, Amelia was in the sitting room playing a game of cards Erik had taught her.

"He knows a lot of games to play by yourself!" The girl said happily, that saddened her aunt, but Elizabeth said nothing.

"Where's your brother?" Elizabeth asked.

"Upstairs, mom says he is ill and needs his rest. I think he's faking, because he says he'll be better enough to go see Caroline's show."

"I don't care if he is well enough to see her show; she needs to be ready enough to be in her show. Do you know what happened last night?"

"All I know is that Daniel left around ten last night and he made me promise not to tell, then I woke up this morning and mum said he was ill. I didn't want to lie to mum or you, but he made me promise."

"That's fine, go back to your game, you're not in trouble."

Elizabeth headed upstairs and met her sister in law. Jane wasn't very happy either but she left Elizabeth to talk to him. "Daniel?"

"Amelia told you didn't she?" Daniel asked in a scratchy voice as soon as she walked in.

"No, Caroline did and she is as sick as you are and thanks to your midnight 'celebration' last night, she may not be able to perform tonight."

"I didn't mean for that to happen, I didn't think it would rain."

"No Daniel, you didn't think at all. Your mother knows and she will deal with your punishment, I need to get back to school and check on Caroline."

"Will you tell her I'm sorry?"

"Maybe," Elizabeth replied. She nodded to Jane as she left and then headed back to school. It had been a crazy morning and the day had only just begun.


	29. Time for Thanks

Chapter 28 –

Elizabeth arrived back to find the school in an uproar again. Some parents of students had arrived early to the school and no one knew what to do with them. Elizabeth had enough on her mind rather than have to deal with a group of bored and overly wealthy parents.

"Elizabeth! Where have you been you cannot run off on the busiest day of the year." It was Meg. "There are too many people getting in the way, and our friend Erik seems to have disappeared leaving the entire vocal class unattended."

"We have lunch staff to attend to them."

"Unfortunately they've learned not to listen to anyone except you and your precious music teacher."

"I don't know where he is."

"Typical opera ghost…"

"Meg Hartford, we have been friends for a long time, but I do not know if I can forgive you if you finish that statement." Elizabeth threatened. "Please?" She added. Meg shut her mouth. "I'm sorry about the students I'll talk to them, as for the parents I'll round them up and send them away from another six hours."

"Mr. Erik is here Elizabeth." Mr. Colvin called as he hurried to the auditorium.

She turned and caught herself before she accidentally sighed and let everyone know of her fragile state. Erik knew right away. "You need to sit, possibly take a break for an hour or two."

"I can't do that and you know it." She replied. "You could help me though, I need to send all the parents who've arrived in the last hour away. We cannot get through this afternoon with anymore distractions."

"That I can help with. People often avoid me."

"Erik…"

"Don't worry I know this is neither the time nor the place."

"It is never the right time or place for that. Now help me get them all in one area."

After settling down their overly excited cast and finding all the adults Elizabeth had them all crowded into what was used as the math classroom. "I am very sorry," she tried to explain to the angry group. "I understand that you have not seen your children in months, but we cannot have everything prepared for this evening if we don't get them to focus on that rather than seeing you."

"Ma'am, we understand that this is very important to you, but no one will worry that this won't go perfectly. There just children, who would care?"

"They would!" Erik replied, until that point he had been silent. The looks he was getting from parents were not going unnoticed. "You're children have worked harder in the last months than most professionals do for a production, it will break their hearts if something goes wrong tonight in front of their families."

"Who are you sir? I do not remember you from our meeting in September." One father asked, sounding as unfriendly as possible.

"I am the vocal teacher; I have been here since early December. I accompanied in the Christmas concert, which you would know had you come to see your daughter Caroline in it." He knew it was her father; she was a picture of this man.

"I do not appreciate being talked to in that manner by a man like you, sir." Lord Henson replied.

"What may I ask do you mean by that statement?" It was Elizabeth.

"You both know what I mean."

"Lord Henson, Caroline adores her teacher, and he has helped her to excel even more in her music. I would be happy to talk to you about it at another time. For now, everyone, I really do need you to go elsewhere for the next few hours until the show. I shall even offer my own home for your services if you'd prefer, my staff would be happy to make you a late luncheon." Soon most of the parents had left, now all that was left were Lord and Lady Henson.

"I think I would very much like to discuss my daughter's education with you Miss Bennet."

"Lord Henson now is not the time…"

"I was ensured at the begging of Caroline's education here, that she would receive only the best in education, at your school. I do not believe that I shall have her continue here if you are to keep certain staff members."

"First of all, Lord Henson, Caroline will not attend my school after this year because we only take students up to the age of twelve at the start of term, and as she is thirteen now, she cannot come back next year. Therefore my second point would be that your opinion of my staff is not important at this time. Besides, if you were to ever talk to your daughter you would know she and Erik work well together and she is a much better performer because of him. Have you even spoken to her today?"

"Of course I have."

"Really, because she has not left her dorm because she is ill, and no person who is not a student is allowed in the dormitories, I would know if you had seen her. Sir, just go out for the afternoon, I can call ahead to a friend in town who would be glad to offer you a nice meal if you would rather eat there than at my home. Now please, I have a show that needs to be prepared for." He was furious, she knew it, and Elizabeth was almost positive he would forbid his daughter from performing, but she felt a huge weight off her chest. She hated that not single family member paid any attention to Caroline and they needed to be put in their place for it.

"I could have defended myself Miss Bennet." Erik said from the corner.

"Yes, but I don't believe your defense strategies are the best tactics for angry parents. We should go see Caroline, see if she is feeling better. Her parents are probably home by now trying to decide what they will do with her next year when she cannot attend here."

"Lead the way." As they walked Erik seemed to have something on his mind.

"What are you thinking?" Elizabeth asked.

"Doesn't Caroline's family live in town?"

"Yes."

"Then why would you offer them a meal at a restaurant, I am sure they have staff who can cook."

"Because they spend no time at home, the staff are the only people who live there full time. It's the same reason Caroline has a dorm at the school when her home is only a short walk away." He nodded.

The two reached Caroline's room and rather than knocking, Elizabeth took out her master key and unlocked the door and opened it slightly, motioning for Erik to stay back, it was improper. Caroline was sitting on her bed looking a little better than the morning drinking something. "Hello dear."

"Miss Bennet!" the child whispered. "I'm whispering to everyone so that I don't lose my voice again."

Elizabeth opened the door fully deciding that it was alright for Erik to come inside. "Hello Mr. Erik, I'm terribly sorry, it wasn't cloudy all day yesterday, I assumed it would stay that way at night."

"Are you at least feeling a little better?" He asked kindly.

"Yes, if I hardly move all afternoon, by the time for warm-up I should be alright." She replied. "This tea really seems to be working. What kind is it?"

"It's just an herbal tea from the kitch…" Elizabeth began.

"I made it myself, it's my own concoction, it usually works." Elizabeth glared at him.

"What if she was allergic to something you put into it?"

"I'm not allergic to anyt…" Her whispers were cut off.

"I would know if she were allergic to something in it." Erik replied sounding insulted.

"My kitchen staff are good at their job Erik and they will not be happy to find out you replaced their tea."

"They won't know, Mr. Erik came up here…" She was cut off again

"The tea is made specifically to help her sore throat and to give her more energy; your staff could not have made it."

"Miss Bennet, Mr. Erik, I'm not sure that this is really an important…"

"If you had given them the recipe, they could have double checked that there was nothing in it to harm her."

"I knew there was nothing in it to harm her. I am her teacher I know her better than your chef."

"Please be quiet, both of you!" Caroline finally said in as loud of a whisper as she could. "You're giving me a headache and that was the one symptom I didn't feel this morning. Can I just finish my tea and go back to sleep?"

Elizabeth and Erik both opened their mouths to apologize but both said nothing. Instead they hurried out of the girl's room. As they reach the stairway they looked to each other and both almost burst into a laugh. "That was probably the most immature conversation I've had in a long time." Erik finally said.

"Yes, even when I am talking to five-year-olds I have more self control than that." Erik pulled her towards him and gave her a kiss on the forehead as he pulled her into a hug.

"Oh, Miss Bennet…" it was a young vocal student who was now beet red. "Um, Mr. Colvin is looking for you, he needed something, but I can't remember what. I need to… go." The boy ran off.

"Now the entire instrumental class will know about us." Elizabeth said sounding almost miserable.

"It's not the worst thing in the world is it?" He asked as he lifted her head to meet his gaze.

"No, but any other day would be much easier."

"Go fix the problem in the instrument department. I have a group of students to talk to and give them an inspirational speech."

"You inspirational? I cannot believe that for a minute." She replied with a smirk.

"I will show you inspirational Miss Bennet, when you are least expecting it."

"I look forward to that moment." She flirted.

"Tisk Tisk, this is not an appropriate conversation for a children's school." Erik taunted.

"Then we will have to continue it later."

"Now I am looking forward to later." He kissed her cheek once more then let her go.

He made his way down to his classroom. Ten students sat patiently for him. "Why is it that other people seem to always be complaining that you students are misbehaved but whenever I see you, you're perfect angels?" No one replied and Erik smiled. "Now, do we have any concerns about tonight?"

No one said a thing, finally Emily spoke up. "Fine, if no one else is going to say it, I will. We are worried about Caroline; will he have to use an understudy? Will we not do it at all? Hattie said that she saw her before lunch and she didn't look any better."

"I was just with Caroline and I made sure that she had a special tea that I made, she will be better for the show. I am sure of it."

"Where do you learn all these tricks and teas and potions?" Frederick asked.

"That is not a question related to tonight's show is it?" Erik asked calmly.

"No, sorry sir." Frederick replied.

"Any other concerns?" No one said a thing, and Erik turned his focus to the inspiring speech he was going to give. "Alright then, this part should be fun. As you all know I am not one for inspirational speeches, Miss Bennet can do a better job of that, but today I must." He began. "I have worked with some of the biggest professional performers in France, and I know how professionals carry themselves. You however are an entire different breed of professionals, and I respect you so much for it. I have worked with you since December and everyday you continue to amaze me. You listen better than any single person I have ever worked with in my life, you have no objections to voicing your opinions, but your opinions are usually things that I myself would take into consideration. These months have been without a doubt, the greatest of my life. I will not forget any of you and I hope that I have had as much of an impact on you as you have on me. Now we must all get ready for tonight because we want this to be great. I have no doubt in my mind that no matter what happens on stage tonight you will all enjoy every minute of it, and I can guarantee that the audience will as well. Thank you all for this experience, I have no regrets about this year. I love you all very much and I trust you more than most people on earth. You will all do great things in this world and I will watch for it in the future."

"We prepared something to say to you as well Mr. Erik, each of us." This surprised Erik.

"I'm going to go first." Emily said with a smile. Before saying anything she hurried over to her teacher and gave him a big hug which only reached his legs. He bent down and gave her a proper hug. "Well, I did not write anything because I am not a good writer but I just wanted to say thank you because you are the best teacher I've ever had, and I've had three this year. I really want you to come back next year and teach me again."

Next Jennifer and Andrew Billings got up. "Thank you Mr. Erik, Even though this is Andrews last year I am looking forward to coming back next year because you've made us all better singers as well as people."

Hattie went next. "I want to thank you for believing in all of us, especially me, because even though I complained, I really enjoy the grandmother part. And the song you made for it is so much fun to sing."

"This isn't something that children like me usually get to experience, but because you have been teaching me I feel luckier than any of the wealthiest children in the world." This was Frederick.

"I wanted to thank you for helping me break out and sing alto, because it is a lot more natural for me and I enjoy it very much. I am glad that you were able to get me to change sections." Julie said timidly.

Brianna stood up. "We are all really indebted to you because you have given us an amazing year and I am sad that I won't be returning next year." This shocked everyone, Brianna was only eleven.

"Why not?" Erik asked.

"My parents want me to attend a school for young women in society; they want me to become a proper lady." She replied. Everyone looked upset.

"Well I guess I'll go next." Jimmy said. "I am glad that I am returning next year because Mr. Erik you work really well with all of us, and I am really excited to have an entire year with you."

Aurora stood up. "I just want to thank you for everything that you've done, you saved this year for us, if you hadn't come we probably wouldn't want to come back next year. You say you love us and respect us, and we love and respect you just as much"

"And I want to thank you for letting me join your class and trying so hard to convince my father to let me stay. I know it was a hard fight for you to win, and I'm not sure why, but if you hadn't I would have to go back to my old school and I really would not want that."

Erik was surprised but so thankful for these children; he never had been treated like this before. He was so grateful for what he learned from them this year, and he didn't know how to repay them. "I don't know what to say. I don't know why you would thank me, it is you who have made this year what it is, now, we must get ready for tonight or Miss Bennet may go insane." The students laughed and they got up to finish getting ready for their performance.


	30. Without Further Ado

Chapter 29 –

When the evening finally came Erik could see that Elizabeth was much beyond frazzled. Two dancers had somehow gotten their hair attached together and by reaction pulled adapt leaving one girl with a prominent bald spot on the side of her head. Jane, who had dealt with similar with her own daughter came in and fixed the two girls hair beautifully. This caused the other thirteen girls to want their hair the same, so her poor sister in law was stuck backstage until all of the dancers were done similarly. Caroline had finally come downstairs after drinking another of Erik's remedy teas; he had limited her at two because she was still young, and though he would never admit it to Elizabeth, he did not know how her small figure would react to more. Two older boys in the instrumental class had been fighting in the hallway over nothing of importance when Elizabeth and Erik were hurrying to the music room to see how Caroline was doing the two boys landed on top of a younger boys precious violin. Both reacted differently. Erik was by far more upset at the carelessness both the two boys had used, and the idiocy of the little boy for leaving the case open. Elizabeth tried to console the little one while wondering where she was to get a new one in an hour. On top of it all the de Changy's had just arrived wanting to see Andrew.

"Erik." Elizabeth said sounding oddly calm. He turned his attention to her. "I think I am going to explode."

"Elizabeth. That would just be a horrible mess and fifty students would be devastated." She gave home a half smile. "Only because they would not get to perform tonight, they do not care for you that much." She looked at him wide eyed and finally did what she had been expecting of herself all day, she screamed in frustration and hurried in the opposite direction.

For the second time that day Erik had nothing to say and he just opened and shut his mouth. He turned to the de Changy's for a second, Christine looked mildly amused but it didn't overpower the awkwardness they all felt. Erik said nothing and hurried after Elizabeth. He turned quickly after a few paces. "He is in the rehearsal room; that way." He pointed.

When he was gone the young woman laughed whole heartedly. "You find it funny that our son is staying in a madhouse like this?" her husband asked sternly.

"Oh Raoul, you obviously spent no time backstage at the Populaire, this is organized compared to the life I used to live."

"Elizabeth." Erik found her at her office door fumbling with the key. "This is not becoming of you."

"Erik, please..."

"No, Elizabeth you are not like this. I have never seen you this drained, just order us around as you normally would. I don't know what has gotten into you today; this is not the headstrong women I met in December. Give me an order and I'll try my hardest to obey, or at least tell me what is on your mind."

"Everything and nothing." She replied. "Everything of the past month has been on my mind for these last thirty days and now, when I need to focus on today I cannot think of anything other than those events."

"What events?"

"You! Everything I do reminds me of you, as soon as I've gotten any amount of control over things today you walk in the door and I am completely beside myself again. I cannot think clearly with you around. I never have been able to. It was different before, when I hated you, I would get my thoughts organized in spite of you, now I cannot even do that. It is lucky that I have a huge amount of self control, because that is all that is keeping me from ordering my carriage and dragging you home right now to be alone with you."

Whatever Erik was expecting, it wasn't what had just come out of her mouth. He was rendered speechless again.

"Oh my goodness I cannot be here hiding from my responsibilities I need to worry about everything that is going on outside of this room." She tried to push passed him.

"I told you months ago that I would help you with this show, and I promised myself I wouldn't let you get in over your head again. I will help you share this burden. I know you well enough to know that you need to take this key," which he took lightly from her hand and opened the door to her office with, "And sit in this room for about half an hour to calm down. After that you will go to wherever you put that beautiful lavender dress you planned to wear tonight, and get yourself dressed and properly groomed for the occasion. Then you will go onstage and introduce your students. That is all you will do."

"Erik I don't need you giving me orders right now, and I really do not need to be letting other people do my job…"

"I will take care of it, I am capable."

"I know that, but I need to go find a new violin which won't be…"

He shook his head. "I know I can do that."

"I need to welcome everyone and get them to their seat…"

"You hired people to do that. The rest of the staff and I can handle this, there are enough of us for you to take a nice short break." He gently forced her to sit in her chair and left the room. For once, she actually obeyed him.

Erik stopped quickly to inform the other teachers of the situation, asking them not to go to Elizabeth with their concerns. He turned to Mr. Colvin and Mr. Jacobs. "I will get a new violin for that one boy. It is my own and I need it back as soon as the concert is over."

"We can find a different one for him I'm sure…" Mr. Jacobs began.

"Just as long as the two of you keep an eye on it, and the boy holding at all times it will be fine." The two men nodded at the forceful tone the taller man was using.

Erik took Elizabeth's own horse Dallas back to the Summerside mansion and was up the stairs and back down before anyone knew he was there. He rode back to the school with his own violin in hand. He found the little boy who was to play it, he had obviously still be crying minutes before Erik arrived. He warned the boy that he needed to take as best care of it as he could. And he couldn't help but feel proud when the child opened the case and was in awe of the magnificence of the instrument he was going to play.

"It should be tuned properly, now remember as best care as you can." The boy nodded excitedly and quickly. Erik nodded to him and the two instrumental instructors before he left to find his own students.

As he headed back to his own students Erik heard a gasp to his left. He looked over to see the face of an old friend. Madame Giry looked more shocked than anything to see him there. She had in fact just seen the de Changy's so she assumed he was there for than one purpose. "Erik, you should not be here, she is happy. Her son is a student here."

Erik said nothing. Before he could saying anything Emily came passed. "Mr. Erik, there you are, everyone has been looking for you. Caroline says she needs more tea."

He turned his attention tot eh little girl. "Caroline cannot have anymore tea, she has had enough already, she will be fine to sing tonight. Give her lots of water, not too cold or not too warm, her voice will be fine, tell her I forbid her to speak anymore until we warm up. I will be along as soon as I am finished some errands Elizabeth has sent me to do." The girl hurried of. He turned his attention back to the aging ballet mistress. "I a quite aware that her son is here, I am his teacher. I assume Meg did not feel fit to tell you?"

"Apparently not, how long have you been here? Why are you here?"

"Since December, and I happen to enjoy teaching music to young minds. Now you should find your seat the show will start soon. You will enjoy it, although I must say, the ballet will not be up to your standards."

"They are children Erik, my standards are a fair bit lower for children. I am sure nothing in this show will be up to your high standards."

"Of course it will, I wrote it my dear Madam Giry. I daresay tonight's show will go better than my last work's opening night."

"I don't believe it could go worse." With that last remark he ushered the old lady to the auditorium.

"Erik!" called a voice behind him. He was beginning to doubt he would ever get to his classroom. "Do you know when Elizabeth is?" It was Jane who had finally finished with the hair of the ballerina's and all of the vocal girls.

"Hiding. Do you want me to escort you to your seat?"

"No, I am sure I know my way around this building as well as you do. Thank you and good luck tonight."

"Thank you madam."

When her hour of rest was over Elizabeth reemerged into the craziness around her. She visited the instrumental students as they all tuned their instruments together. He eyes widen, but she also smiled when she saw the violin that the young boy Marcel was playing. "You all sound perfectly tuned and amazing. I shall listen intently from the front row." She was awarded by a chorus of claps and thanks.

"It really is a beautiful score Miss Bennet." One of the older students said happily.

"You may thank Mr. Erik for that one, he wrote the music, I merely did the lyrics, and only if he agreed to them. When you see him thank him." She smiled and headed away.

After that she went to see how Meg was doing.

"How are my girls today?" Elizabeth asked them, she always referred to the group as her girls when they were alone. They connected with Meg much better than herself, but they loved her just the same. "Are we all prepared to go onstage?"

"Yes, we are all very excited. Will you be in the front row?" The girl asking was named Jacqueline, the only scholarship dance student who Elizabeth had brought from an orphanage in France. She was the niece of one of Elizabeth's maids.

"Of course I shall be in the front row, where else would I sit? I could not see your beautiful dancing as well if I were to sit in the back."

They smiled, and asked her more questions until Meg stopped them. "Alright girls, we need to finish stretching."

"Sorry to be a distraction." Elizabeth said quietly to her friend before she left.

"Elizabeth, I want to apologize for what I said that day after the fight between Erik and I. You are great to all of these children, the dancers, the musicians and the singers all adore you."

"You do not need to apologize, that is not important now. I shall see you at our seats tonight."

"Yes, of course." It was tradition for the ballet instructor and Mr. Colvin to sit with her and watch the show, usually the vocal instructor would as well, but he had conveniently written himself an organ part in the score. They were not needed backstage anymore, it was their chance to sit back and watch their students.

Elizabeth was going to go to see the vocal students but she didn't think she could face Erik at that point in time, but her principles wouldn't allow her not to wish them good luck. They were warming up when she arrived, Caroline sounded much better, and they had arranged for someone to always have water ready for the girl when she left the stage.

Their faces brightened when they saw her and she wished them the best of luck, and told them they would all be marvelous. "You all look astonishing, and you sound fantastic. You will make all your family and friends proud tonight. Now you must all get backstage."

They hurried out of the room and Elizabeth went to follow but Erik caught her arm before he could. "Do I not get a good luck from you?"

"I somehow doubt you will need luck tonight, you know this music back and front, and you hardly need the music in front of you at all."

"I don't, but it comforts everyone if I use it. You've done a fabulous job Elizabeth, everything is perfect."

"I did nothing, I think I have finally found a group of teachers who do not need my help at all anymore."

"Yes we do, this night is all about your accomplishments. The staff or these students would be lost without you." He gave her a short and reassuring kiss then they headed for the stage. "We need to get down there, they cannot start without us."

Elizabeth got onto the stage and smiled at the full house ahead of her. "Welcome everyone, we are so excited to showcase to you all the hard work your children have done this past year. I hope you all enjoy what we have planned for you tonight and without further ado, I present to you a collection of timeless fairy tales brought to you by the staff and students of the Christopher Bennet School of Fine Arts." She motioned toward the stage and the curtain came up.

The show began.


	31. After the Show

In case you all haven't realized, I'm not in school anymore therefore I have much more time to update, I am sorry for neglecting the story for most of the school year but I promise to make it up to you all.

-Margo

Chapter 30 –

Elizabeth stepped off the stage and sat in her seat as little Andrew stepped onto the stage. He saw his parents smiled and waved slightly before realizing he wasn't allowed to do that.

The organ began to play in the background and the boys voice was heard. From the moment the show began Elizabeth could not keep a smile off her face.

During her solo in Cinderella, Caroline's voice cracked on one particularly long note, and Elizabeth could see the girl was horrified but she saw Elizabeth give a reassuring smile and she continued the song beautifully.

Andrew and Jennifer Billings were adorable as Hansel and Gretel and the music sounded great. The orchestra class played short five minute intervals between the shows. In Sleeping Beauty there was a small problem with one of the instrumental students dropping his sheet music, but it worked itself out. Jimmy managed to steal the show in his solo before he woke up the sleeping princess.

The ballet in the Frog Prince looked beautiful, and although Elizabeth heard murmur before it started about there only being two singers, it was a great success and the two were given a standing ovation after their duet at the end.

Hattie as the Grandmother in Little red Riding hood was amazing and Elizabeth was so proud of her. Emily was adorable and Elizabeth reminded herself she needed to let the girl keep the red cloak, it was so sweet.

In Rapunzel, Brianna and Frederick, even with the obvious age and height difference we a very sweet duet and Elizabeth caught Erik's gaze for the first time of the night and gave him a huge smile.

Finally in Snow White which also contained the entire ballet class the Applause was amazing and the students were beaming. The music students stood up and the crowed cheered again. When Elizabeth was expecting them to be ushered off stage they remained.

Caroline and one of the older ballet students stepped forward. "Before we finish tonight, we on behalf of all the students would love to thank the people who have made this all possible." One of the instrumental students had also joined the two on stage. "Jeffery?" Caroline said to the boy.

"We have spent the entire year with the most amazing teachers. The instrumental class has had an amazing year and we awe that all to our beloved teachers Mr. Jacobs and Mr. Colvin." He motioned toward them. "Could you please come up on stage?" The two men did and they thanked the crowd. "These two men have done an amazing job with us all, many of us have had very little experience playing, but these two men have made us so much better. Thank you." He turned to the ballerina. "Madeline?"

She stood forward. "This year was the first year for our new ballet mistress. Madam Hartford is an amazing and talent dancer and teacher. We are forever in her debt for what she has done for us. We are grateful that she has chosen to teach us when we all know that she could easily still be dancing in opera houses all over the world." Meg had made her way up to the stage. "I am sad that I am leaving next year, but I know that you will do an amazing job with your students next year." Meg hugged the girl and Elizabeth watched her husband and an older woman who could only be the her mother stood up and clapped for her.

Now it was Caroline's turn. "The vocal class this year has had many ups and downs, but the best thing that has happened for us was the introduction to the greatest teacher any of us have ever had. Mr. Erik, has been an amazing accompanist tonight, and has done just as well for us since he arrived in December. Not only did he play tonight and teach us the music, he wrote a large amount of it with the school headmistress. I will be leaving this year, and I am jealous that my classmates get more time with him, but I am grateful for what I had." She looked toward the organ where he was still sitting. "Mr. Erik, come here!" She called to him. When he didn't she went over to him and drug him onto the stage. "Thank you." She said quietly and hugged him. He lightly returned it.

The three students kept their teacher on the stage. "Finally before we let you depart for the night we would like to invite the person who has made this all possible, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, to the stage." Everyone on stage and off stood and clapped for her.

"Miss Bennet has made it possible for all of us to be here, she had put her heart and soul into this school and we are all so grateful for it. We love you so much Miss Bennet and we will never forget what we have learned and experienced here at your school."

Tears filled Elizabeth eyes and her smile never shone brighter. She pulled all three of the students into a big hug and then hugged her four teachers. Erik held her for a split second longer than anyone making her much more confident that everything was perfect. "Thank you all for coming tonight, I just want to thank all of the talented students for attending my school, and all the parents for allowing them to attend it, also. In addition I would like to thank my entire staff, these four amazing teachers here as well as my academic teachers sitting two rows back, and my overnight, and kitchen staff who make everything possible in this school. Thank you all, I promise there is nowhere else on earth I would rather be." The crowd all stood for a final time and the curtain finally fell.

Elizabeth could feel Erik's reassuring hand on her waist as he could tell she was going to cry, and she did.

Before leaving that night she spent a minute with every student sin the school, and she made sure everyone had gotten a hug. Erik waited patiently for her. She finished and sent all the students upstairs, or home to their parents. "Are you ready to go?" Erik asked.

"Yes." She smiled and he put his hand on the small of her back and lead her forward. "You did amazing tonight."

"Thank you." He replied simply.

"Did you have fun?"

"Of course, everything went beautifully."

"It is sad though isn't it?" Elizabeth sighed. "I am going to miss the older students so much.

"Did you know Brianna is not returning next year?" Erik asked her remembering earlier that day.

"Yes, her mother informed me yesterday. I tried to beg her to let her stay for her last year, but it was hopeless." He nodded. "But enough about everyone else, I want to talk to you."

"It is very late you know."

"Erik you have been avoiding this conversation forever, please?"

"Why is it that no matter how much I want to, I can never deny you what you desire?" She smiled triumphantly. "What do you want to know?"

"Are you going to stay here? No one really know whether you will or not."

"Of course I will stay; the fact that you are even asking this startles me."

"I don't know, like I told you, I can never see to think clearly with you. Another thing, what are we to do? You know I love you dearly, but I don't know what to do about our relationship. I understand that I do not have the reputation of a proper woman, in fact, you living at my house probably sealed the deal on that, but I don't think it would benefit either of us or the school if we have a relationship in public without the proper situations."

"Marriage?"

"I am not telling you to propose right his moment, in fact that is not even what is on my mind, I just think we should keep our relationship as quiet as possible until we are ready for that. In the summer I am sure we will have time to breathe and discuss all this, but that doesn't mean I want us to not have an intimate relationship. I assure you that I do, I really do." He laughed at her tone. "It's not a joking matter Erik, I know what I want and you have been keeping me at arms length this long and it is not an enjoyable experience." He pulled her into and intimate embrace and they continued to walk home. They had left Dallas at the school deciding a walk in the cool night air would be much more enjoyable.

After walking for about five minutes Elizabeth felt it begin to rain. "Dammit." Erik said annoyed. "Now we cannot be angry at the two children."

"Of course we can, we are grown adults who make our own decisions, Caroline and Daniel must listen to the adults in their lives." He pulled her closer and wrapped her in his cloak with him sheltering her from the rain.

Thankfully they were not far from the house and as soon as they arrived they both went to their respective rooms and changed into warm robes. Erik hurried back to her room and found her curled up in a chair next to the fire. She stood up and they both sat together next to the fire on the rug.

The two were exhausted and although Elizabeth could feel the heat radiating from his body both were too tired to do anything about it. They both fell asleep soon afterward. Elizabeth woke up to find Erik pressed tightly against her back and never felt more comfortable. "Good sleep?" He asked.

"Do you ever sleep?"

"I slept for about a half an hour, I was much more content to feel you breathing next to me." She sighed and rolled to face him. She kissed him lightly at first, but he pulled her closer. "This is going to progress farther than we…"

"Erik, if you object to this again I will kill you." He laughed, knowing she was probably telling the truth. She liked the feel of him laughing as she kissed him.

"I still will not take your virginity Elizabeth." He stated and she pulled back he couldn't read her expression.

"Why not Erik? Why will you not just give in to what we both want?" She was hurt, and angry, and he knew what he was about to say would hurt her more.

"Because you deserve better than that Elizabeth," He sat up and looked away from her. "Since I have arrived here I have tarnished your reputation probably beyond repair. Your own staff spreads rumors of our relationship, I am sure of it, if I were to take your virginity and heaven forbid get you with child before we ever married it would reflect at the academy. I will not let you lose your precious students just so that we are satisfied for one night."

"I am pretty sure we will not be a one night affair Erik." She replied. "I understand what you are saying but it is hard. I do not believe I have ever wanted something this much, and you of all people know that I hardly ever am denied what I want."

"We must use some of that self control we both have very much of and keep this as mild as possible." He kissed her again. "I think it best we both remain fully clothed." He kissed her tenderly for a few minutes trying to get her to calm down, and not completely hate him forever. "Marry me Elizabeth."

"Erik, jumping into marriage for the sole purpose of sexual relations is worse than what I want."

"I am not only suggesting this because of this conversation my dear. Earlier today, when I ran off during lunch I went to see the jeweler."

"Oh Erik." She was more shocked than anything.

"Unfortunately I have no idea of your ring size and was not able to get the one I wanted sized, so I am just praying it will fit. It is in my own room, I can go get it."

"I don't need a ring Erik."

"I know, but you deserve it."

"How can you afford a ring on the salary I pay you?" She asked, being only partially honest.

"I have not needed to spend any amount of my salary since Christmas, I've been saving for something special, and today I knew what that was." He replied happily.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure Elizabeth; I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't. Now say yes."

"He orders, and yet I hold all the control." She giggled.

"You sound like one of your students." He pulled her closer and she settled between his legs. "Now, my dear, say yes and make me the happiest man on earth."

"Yes." She whispered as he pulled her mouth up to his.

"Good." He replied. "Now I shall return to my own room."

"What? Erik!"

"I want my bride to be begging for me by my wedding night." With that, he left the room and Elizabeth sat staring at the door in disbelief as she sat on the floor. She wanted to seek revenge on him, but they both knew he was right, she would most likely be reduced to begging, and she also knew that there was no way they would be having a long engagement.


	32. Broken

Chapter 31 –

The next morning Erik found Elizabeth making plans for something new. "What are you doing, the year is over and we have all summer to plan for the musical season of next year?" Erik asked looking over her shoulder.

"Planning the picnic."

"Picnic?" He asked in a monotone voice.

"Yes, every year a week after the show the whole school and all the staff, even the maids, cooks and overnight workers, all go on a picnic to this little lagoon type place on my property."

"Lagoons are in the ocean."

"I know but it is this little pool of water that is crystal clear all year long, I love it. And we spend the day there. We set up a big picnic with all kinds of food and all the students go swimming, it is a huge amount of fun."

"I'm sure it is."

"What is it Erik, you don't like picnics?"

"No, they would not be my most worthwhile way of spending an afternoon." He replied.

"But it is fun." Elizabeth quietly objected.

"But because you ask it of me I plan on attending, but I will not swim." He added. Elizabeth turned back to her work and his her smile from Erik."

On the Monday when all the teachers returned to school, Erik and Elizabeth arrived late and found the students already with their academic teachers. "So I assume the next few weeks are boring?" Erik asked.

"Yes, as soon as the show is over even I find it boring to attend the school. However, you do not have to. I don't expect my teachers to be at school when they have no need to be there. Now I have to go make plans for this picnic of ours."

"Wait." Erik called after her to find she had already made it a fair distance in two seconds. "I have something for you." He held out his hand and when he opened it she saw the ring he had bought. It wasn't a huge diamond monstrosity as you saw many woman wearing, but it was still beautiful. The silver band wrapped around the diamond in a flowing pattern that ended before the two ends touched and the diamond sat beautifully in the middle.

Her hand went to her mouth. "Erik it's beautiful."

"I am afraid it is not the type of ring I would like to have bought you, but I thought it was nice all the same."

"I love it, and anything bigger would be too big for my liking." They stood there for a minute. "Put it on Erik." She said almost laughing at their silence. He did, and Elizabeth headed towards the kitchens to get the food organized for the picnic.

When the classes were on a short midmorning break Erik and Elizabeth went to visit the students.

"I know you're lying about this Aurora, it's not true." It was Jennifer.

"I don't lie about anything, I saw him go in."

"No you didn't, it was someone else." Jimmy replied.

"I think I would be able to tell my own teacher from someone I didn't know."

"Apparently not."

Elizabeth and Erik came into the room and everyone became quiet. Aurora's face brightened up. "See look, I told you, she's wearing a ring. I knew it was Mr. Erik who went into the jewelry store." Everyone's mouths dropped but then gradually smiled.

"Oh, you're getting married that's so romantic." Caroline hurried over to Miss Bennet and gave her a big hug, and she looked to Erik begging for help. "The ring is so pretty. I knew from the start that you were perfect for each other."

The entire class wanted to see the ring and hug Miss Bennet; Erik just stood to the side of the chaos and watched, smirking at his fiancé. When everyone had hugged and crowded around their headmistress for a sufficient amount of time they attacked Erik next and it was Elizabeth's turn to give him a smirk.

"So when is the wedding going to be, we all get to attend right?" Jennifer asked hopefully.

"Of course, but we have only been engaged for twelve hours, we haven't made plans just yet." Elizabeth replied. "But you all have to promise to keep this quiet, no one can know just yet. When the time is right we will tell everyone, but for now it is our secret." The whole class agreed and both adults hoped they would be able to hold true to their promise.

After the midmorning break Elizabeth had more work to take care of in her office and Erik went to go visit with Madam Giry who he heard was at the school with Meg today.

The week flew by and soon enough it was the Friday of the picnic. To be safe, a select group of parents as well as the staff came along for extra care, fifty was a large number after all. They traveled by foot into the little pond in the tiny forest off of Elizabeth's land. The students who had been there before lead the way.

The little pool, rather than being muddy was crystal clear because there were rocks rather than mud lining the hole. Next to the pool over a few large rocks was the river. Elizabeth wanted no one to try and swim in the river. Almost immediately some of the older students got ready to get into the water wearing their proper swimming attire. Elizabeth made sure all the students had swimwear in order for them to go, some of the students had to borrow from others.

After a little while of sitting on a blanket the students finally got Elizabeth to join them in the pool. Erik offered to keep some of the younger students, who weren't ready to swim yet, amused. Elizabeth jumped in. Erik watched as she did she looked so happy to be where she was and it made Erik smile. She was not wearing the ring anymore because they wanted everything to be secret and if a classroom of children had noticed it, anyone else in the world could have as well.

Erik was brought out of his near trance when he saw Andrew de Changy wandering around near the rocks at the side if the river. "Andrew, stay away from the river."

"I will sir, I just want to look at these rocks here. There's gold on them." Erik who had gotten up when he saw the boy over there could see what the boy saw.

"Unfortunately, It's only iron pyrite." Erik replied; the boy looked confused. "Fools gold." He added and Andrew looked disappointed.

"Its still pretty." Andrew replied and continued looking at it. "I think my mum would really like it, I should save a couple for her." Erik though of the fact that mention of Christine should have had more of an effect on him, but it didn't.

Erik turned his head to watch the other young students who he'd been sitting with.

"Andrew get down from there you'll…" Elizabeth began.

"AHHHH!" The boy screamed and slipped on loose rocks and fell in. In an instant Erik removed his cloak and was in the water after the boy.

"Erik!" Elizabeth called. She got out of the pool as fast as she could, but instead of hurrying to where they fell she ran the other way, passed the rocks and down the river where they would be in seconds. She was barefoot and could feel herself getting scratched on her arms and legs but she continued running.

She watched as Erik reached Andrew and held his head up, then he struggled to get the boy to the side of the river. For a split second they both went under, but soon Elizabeth saw Andrew grab a rock at the edge of the river. She had him out in an instant then looked for Erik.

Some of the crowd watched and caught up to the trouble just as Elizabeth waded into some shallow water to catch Erik as he floated by. He was not moving, and she saw that he had hit his head hard on something. Andrew was standing next to her instantly and she knew the boy was okay, but she motioned for someone else to get him away from Erik because he would surly be traumatized.

The mask had come off in the water and from the redness, and a cut that had formed she assumed the mask may have saved him, but she was not a doctor and she couldn't say for sure. "Erik?" She said quietly to him as she lifted his head into her lap. She could feel his pulse and he was breathing lightly. "Please don't do this, not now."

"Miss Bennet?"

"We need to get him to my house, now." Elizabeth commanded as she fought back tears. "He's breathing, but he hit his head hard."

Between Mr. Jacobs, Mr. Colvin, and Elizabeth they were able to get Erik to the small handcar they had brought to carry food. The two male teachers could see that she was shivering and they refused to let her pull the cart.

"Miss Bennet, you get back to the pond and get the students back to the school, we'll get him to your house and send for the doctor, the students need you to get them under control and back to the house. And get a towel or something to wrap yourself in, you're freezing."

"I just want to make sure he is okay."

"We know, but the students are terrified, you need to talk to them." Elizabeth didn't want to leave him, but she rationalized that Erik would want her to make sure Andrew and everyone else was doing okay.

She went back to the pond area where she found some of the students gathering their things quickly and quietly while others just sat silently. She noticed that most of the singing students were among those sitting silently.

Everyone looked to her hopefully. She wished she could give them anything other than what she knew. She didn't believe she could make them feel any better because she felt as if her heart had been ripped from her chest.

Emily ran to her when she saw her. "Miss Bennet tell me he'll be okay?" Everyone stopped to watch Elizabeth reaction. She couldn't say anything so she just bent down and gave the girl a big hug.

"I'm sorry Miss Bennet." A voice behind her said. She knew who it was even before she saw him. Andrew.

She stood up, still trying to comfort Emily and looked to the little boy, he was wrapped in a big thick blanket and tear streamed down his face. "It is not your fault Andrew…"

"It is though, I was too close to the river looking at the fake gold."

"Andrew, pointing fingers is not going to make Mr. Erik better." This was Caroline, "he would be happy to know that you are alright, we should get all of our things and go to Miss Bennet's house."

"I don't know if you should be going to…"

"Miss Bennet, he is our teacher, we love him, and even you cannot keep us away from where he is. When I was little, and my friend was sick, my governess always told me that people who are ill and injured need to be with people who love them. We all want to be there for him." Elizabeth didn't believe she could ever be as proud of the girl as she was in that moment, all she could do was nod.

"Miss Bennet?" It was one of the ballerina's "We found it by the water." The girl held up Erik's white mask in two pieces. Elizabeth took it in one hand and sh finally set the weeping girl down.

"Emily sweetheart, why don't you go and get all your things and then we can go get warm at my house as soon as possible." She nodded, sniffed, and then went to her things.

Meg came up beside Elizabeth. "I know you'll want to get back to your home as soon as possible, so the kitchen staff and I will get the dancers and music students back to the school." Elizabeth just nodded again as she felt Meg wrap her in something warm and comforting.

"Meg?" She turned. "Thank you."

"You would do the same for me if it were the man I loved." Elizabeth didn't reply, she just snuggled deeper into whatever it was that was wrapped around her. When she looked down at the broken mask in her hands she couldn't help but fear that the man it belonged to would face a similar fate.

"Dear lord, don't let anything happen to him, he needs to be alive and well. I would give anything for it."

She took deep breaths and tried to get even a slight grasp on herself, it was then that she realized she was wrapped in Erik's cloak.

Hey guys, don't hate me, I promise that he will be okay, I couldn't kill him, but I'm sort of sick of reading stories where Erik is there to nurse the one he loves back to health, blah blah blah, so I decided to go for a different route, don't worry it will work out.

So this story is nearing a close as you may tell from the climactic series of events we have had recently, but I am considering a sequel…what do you all think?


	33. Waiting

Chapter 32 –

Meg took the forty other students back to the school while Elizabeth took Erik's eleven students to her house. Emily was nestled in Elizabeth's arms and she held Andrews hand with her free one. They arrived at the house after the doctor had arrived and Elizabeth got the children sitting down in a sitting room while she hurried to Erik's bedroom. The doctor was inside and the two teachers stood outside the door.

"I think the doctor would prefer to work alone…" Mr. Colvin began. Elizabeth's gaze cut him off.

"I don't really care what the doctor would prefer right now." She opened the door.

The doctor looked to her but did not ask her to leave. She could not tell what the man was doing but she stood there watching the slow rise and fall of Erik's chest hoping he would be alright.

"Will he be okay doctor?" Elizabeth finally got up the courage to ask. She tried to steady her breathing as best she could. Erik looked helpless and she knew that when he woke up, he would be upset over the mask being gone, in fact, she knew he'd be furious.

"If he wakes up, he should be alright." The doctor replied cautiously.

"What if he doesn't wake up?" She almost didn't want to hear the answer, but she also knew she'd need to prepare for the worst.

"He is in what is called a coma Miss Bennet, he is non-responsive to anything that we may do to him, if he comes out of it in the next day or so there should be no permanent damage, but if he remains in it for longer than that, even if his breathing stays regular, he will eventually become over dehydrated and…" He didn't want to say the word, so Elizabeth just nodded, she knew what he meant.

"Is there any way to get him out of the coma?" She asked weakly.

"He must do that himself." The doctor replied, he put a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. She didn't move.

"Miss Bennet?" Called a voice from behind the door. "The children don't want to wait any longer, are they allowed inside?" Elizabeth couldn't even tell which of her teachers were talking, she just nodded and the doctor went to open the door. She didn't want the students to see him like this, but they would not leave until they did.

They all walked into the room slowly, the looks on their faces reminded Elizabeth of how improper this was, she was going to get in a lot of trouble from the parents later. She almost laughed at the fact that she was thinking about what the parents would think.

"Miss Bennet?" It was Caroline; Elizabeth came out of her thoughts and looked to the children. "Will he be alright? Nothing will happen to him right?" The girl was trying to hold herself together, but she was worried and strained from the whole ordeal, and she probably had been holding the rest of the group together since it happened.

"Yes, Miss Bennet he is breathing so he will be alright. Won't he?" This was Frederick his face was tear streaked.

"I hope so," It was all she could say, if she were to get their hopes up, and then heaven forbid something happened she would never forgive herself.

"What about his mask?" Emily asked. "He never takes that off."

"It broke remember, we found it in two pieces at the river." Andrew Billings replied.

"Oh, right." Emily said barely over a whisper. "We should make him a new one, or maybe it would be easier to fix the one he already has."

"Could we Miss Bennet?" Jimmy asked hopefully.

"Alright, I'll give it to you, but do not make it worse, and he probably would not like it to be decorated." They nodded. "We should let him rest though, you head down to the sitting room again and I will be down in a minute to take you back to the school." They wanted to stay and sit with him, but Elizabeth knew that just seeing him was hurting them and she wouldn't make this harder.

When everyone, even the doctor left the room she sat down next to him and put her hand on top of his. "Erik. You need to be alright, we all need you here. I would give up anything to see you open your eyes." She kissed him lightly on his unmasked face then ran her finger down the marred skin. She swept his hair from his face then headed downstairs just as some sort of commotion began.

When she arrived in the front room she not only found her family back at the house, but they were accompanied by a group of parents, the first thing Elizabeth heard was Andrew sobbing to his mother and father at the front door.

"I was playing around the river with Mr. Erik, we were looking at something called fools gold and I fell in, then…"

"What?" The Vicomte boomed and nearly everyone else in the room went silent. "I told you Christine, that man would never change, he tried to kill our son, I should have trusted myself earlier, Andrew never should have been allowed here. He looked around the room but did not spot the man he was looking for, he did however see Elizabeth. "Where is he?" He demanded of Elizabeth. He didn't hear the protests of everyone around him. "Tell me now or I will tear this house apart. You're protection will not save him, I will find him and kill him!"

Elizabeth slapped him as hard as she could across his face the sound caused everyone to go silent. "Erik saved your son's life. He jumped in after Andrew when the bank of the river collapsed. Erik is upstairs fighting for his life and this is how you repay him for saving your son? Get out of my house!" She screamed at him, all her composure as gone, she could have easily ruined her career in one specific statement but she did not care.

"Raoul, we are leaving." This was Christine, she took her husbands arm with as much force as a woman of her size and build could, and forced him out of the home. Andrew gave Elizabeth a hug and hurried after him.

David took control of the situation and gestured for his wife to help his sister. Jane took Elizabeth to a different room and sat down with her. Elizabeth finally let herself cry properly. She finally got out everything she was feeling to her sister in law.

David hurried and got all the parents and students sent back to the school. Daniel took Amelia to go play a game with her in order for them to stay out of the way.

"What's going on Daniel, what happened?"

"I don't know, but we will know soon enough. For now though, Father and Elizabeth need us out of the way. Why don't we go play that card game Erik taught you?" Amelia followed obediently.

David found the two women sitting in a different study. Elizabeth was crying and Jane began to tell him what had happened. As soon as he heard the story, David hurried up to see Erik, the doctor was back in the room, but he was getting ready to leave.

"Doctor, I will pay you a hundred pounds if you stay here and do everything you can for this man."

"There is not much else I can do. It is up to him now. I'll tell you what I told Miss Bennet, if he wakes up soon he will be fine, but if he goes too long without water or food he will die."

"There is nothing else you can do?" David was reaching.

"No." He replied sadly.

"Thank you for all your help. I will have your payment sent to your office tomorrow." David replied. He went over to the bed and prayed for Elizabeth's sake that he would be alright.

"Daniel, we shouldn't be doing this, you said so yourself, Father and Aunt Elizabeth need us to stay out of the way." Amelia followed her brother cautiously.

"Yes, but that was two hours ago, I want to know what's going on, everyone was so upset, did you see Caroline?" He shot back at his sister.

"Of course I saw Caroline, I saw everyone, and I saw Elizabeth slap that man, so this is obviously a big problem and we should stay out of it and do what we were told. Maybe it is something that children should not be involved in."

"I am fifteen years old Amelia, I am practically grown up, and there are five year olds who know what is going on, so I think we should be allowed to know these things as well." They turned a corner just as Elizabeth was leaving the bedroom that had been Erik's the night before. He tried to push Amelia back but Elizabeth saw them.

Her eyes were red and blotchy from crying but she put on a faint smile for the two. "We know something's wrong Elizabeth, you don't have to pretend." Daniel said. Elizabeth didn't reply, so he pried harder. "What happened, why was everyone so upset?"

"There was an accident at the river today." She barely whispered it.

"Is everyone alright?" Amelia asked alarmed. Daniel elbowed her and shook his head.

"It's alright Daniel." She spoke a little louder than before. "No Amelia, Erik jumped in after Andrew when he fell in the water and now Erik is hurt."

"Will he be okay?" Daniel asked.

"No one really knows, the doctor said he might be alright."

"But what if he isn't?" Amelia asked carelessly.

"Amelia, think before you ask questions." Daniel scolded her. "We've just been really worried, no one has told us what is going on and we decided to find out."

"Daniel did not me, I told him not to." Amelia replied quickly so that she would not get in trouble.

"You're not in trouble Amelia. You two should go to bed, you've had a long day. You'll need your rest for whatever you plan to do tomorrow."

"You need sleep too. You've had much more to worry about today than we did."

"I think I'll stay up in Erik's room. I was just going to get some tea to drink. But thank you anyway."

"Can we stay up with you?" Amelia asked.

"No, the two of you need to get to sleep. I will be fine alone." She headed down to the kitchens.

Daniel didn't move from where he stood and Amelia turned to him annoyed. "Can't you see she wants to be alone, we will just get in the way." She stated.

"She wants to be alone, but she should be with people who love her. Right now she needs us more than ever. Even if we don't say anything, I think that us being there will be better for her."

"But we aren't allowed to go in there, no one wants us to see what happened."

"Even the little ones saw him, we are older than most of the children anyway."

"She's going to get angry with us." Amelia warned.

"We'll be fine, lets just go inside and sit down, when Elizabeth comes back she'll have no choice but to let us stay." He opened the door, but before he motioned for Amelia to follow he stopped. "He's not wearing the mask."

"Then he must be really hurt, he'd never take that off."

"Maybe you shouldn't look Amelia." Daniel had guessed what was under the mask, but what he had assumed was from an accident looked to be a birth defect.

"I think that if you are allowed to look so can I." She pushed passed him and stumbled into the room. She looked at his face but she wasn't bothered by it as much as Daniel assumed it was. "That's what he hides?" She asked innocently. "It isn't that bad, remember last month when mother made us go see Mrs. Parson's new baby, it was much uglier than that and everyone said it was beautiful."

Elizabeth had appeared in the doorway and laughed lightly. "If only he could hear you say that." The two turned to her looking guilty. "You're not going to go to bed are you?" They shook their heads. "Then sit down, the kitchen staff gave me much more tea than I need." They sat down at a small table and drank their tea in silence.


	34. Awaken

Okay so yes I know I am not really around much anymore, but as soon as school started again life got hectic, I'm in Bio, Physics, Math, and My musical theatre class, as well as choir, vocal jazz, and my job…….yes I know that is not a good excuse for making you guys wait, but it's pretty crazy. Uh some other stuff has come up in the last few weeks as well that has kept me away from this, but I'm back, hopefully it won't be this long before my next update. And a very special thanks to James (I'm not going to write his last name because I don't really know if he wants everyone to read it.) My new beta that has done a great job…. (He hasn't done this chapter yet, I wanted it to get to you guys ASAP) but if you check back later it will be even better from his help!

Chapter 33 –

Elizabeth woke up in the chair in the corner of Erik's room; Amelia and Daniel were sleeping on the tiny sofa; the younger girls head resting on her brother's shoulder. Erik didn't seem to have moved. She walked slowly over to his bed and ran her hand down his face. Just as she did her sister in law opened the door into the room. "Oh, you're up, I've been checking for the last hour. I didn't want to wake you."

"Sorry, I didn't know they would be coming in here last night, I didn't really want them to see Erik like this."

"I am fairly certain this was their own choice." Elizabeth just nodded. "Why don't you go downstairs and get something to eat, you hardly ate yesterday and you will make yourself weak if you don't."

"I'll just stay here."

"Elizabeth, please just go eat, if anything happens you will be the first person we call." This time it was David. "You have been living on your own for many years Elizabeth, but I am still the head of this family and you need to eat. I have not given you orders since you were a child, but you need to listen to me now." Elizabeth eyed her older brother but he shook his head. "If anything happens, we will tell you."

She reluctantly took one last look at Erik and walked down the hallway. Jane considered waking her children, but she assumed that they had been up half the night so she let them sleep. "Should one of us stay?"

"Roger is sitting just in the hallway, he'll call for one of us if Erik or the children wake up." David replied to his wife's question.

Elizabeth was sitting in the kitchen trying to finish a bowl of porridge. She had no appetite, but the staffs weren't letting her go back upstairs until she was finished with her breakfast. She looked toward her coffee and since she had very little sleep the drink was welcome. She took a few sips. Gradually finished her meal and picked up the mug to take upstairs to Erik's room. She had eaten in the kitchen rather than the dining room, which was two levels down from Erik's room. She began to make her way back to Erik's room. She had done what everyone wanted her to do; now she just wanted to be left alone.

As she walked up the second stairway she heard Amelia scream, the last time she had heard anyone scream like that was Andrew the day before and she knew immediately something was wrong.

She forgot all about her coffee which crashed to the rug and then continued down the rest of the steps only to shatter as it hit the wood floor at the bottom, but she saw none of it. She nearly barreled into her brother in the hallway, and seconds after the two collided with Amelia and Daniel right outside Erik's bedroom.

"What happened?" David asked, but Elizabeth didn't hear the answer. She was in Erik's room only to find him sitting up in bed looking absolutely furious."

"Erik!" Tears began to fill her eyes and she didn't think she had ever been happier. The anger in his features hardly even registered to her. He opened his mouth to say something to her, but she cut him off. "Are you alright? Do you feel any major pain? Do you need anything? Oh thank god." She didn't even know what she had said. He didn't seem to either. She knelt down beside his bed and took his hand.

"Where is it?" He asked sounding almost calm; but she finally registered how upset he was. His voice was hoarse, probably from lack of water for nearly a day.

She knew instantly what 'it' was and all the joy she had felt seconds ago became second to her anger. She stood up and dropped his hand unceremoniously. "Where is it? You almost died in front of the only people in this entire world that love you and you ask 'where is it'? How about, 'is Andrew alright'? Or 'was anyone else hurt'? No, that doesn't matter does it? All you care about is that bloody mask? Is that why Amelia screamed, why she and Daniel bolted out of here? We have all been worried sick about you; the three of us were up for most of the night praying you would be alright. Every single one of your students is terrified that you might have died and all you want to know is where your precious piece of porcelain is?"

"Where is it?"

She refused to answer him. She went to the water container and poured him a glass of water. She held it out to him. "You need something to drink, you can hardly speak." He thrust his hand out and knocked the glass out of her hand.

"Tell me Elizabeth!" He commanded as loud as he could, but he broke out into a coughing fit. Elizabeth grabbed him a second glass of water and held it out to him.

"Erik take it." She nearly pleaded to him. He finally did. When he had stopped coughing he looked to Elizabeth again.

"Where-"

"God Erik! It broke on a rock or something. It probably kept you alive because rather than your skull smashing against a rock, it was your mask. The children wanted to do something for you so they took it to fix it."

"Who else saw?" He asked miserably.

"All the students saw you down at the river, as well as Amelia, Daniel, David and Jane saw you here. The staff of the school also saw it, and the doctor." She was ready to cry. "Erik, no one cared, all everyone wanted was for you to get better. It wasn't like what happened at that opera house. The only people crying were the ones wishing you would be okay. Everyone was terrified, but not of your face." She knelt down next to him again. "We were so scared. We needed you to be okay. Erik, the doctor didn't know if you would live. You are so lucky to be alive, please just stop thinking about what doesn't matter."

He was silent for a second, but he stiffened suddenly. "Is Andrew alright?"

"Yes, he's fine. He blames himself." She paused for a minute then smiled. "I slapped his father."

She saw the hint of a smile on Erik's face. "What did he do this time?"

"He blamed you for the accident." She replied. They sat silently for a minute but Elizabeth noticed he was strained. "Erik, lay back, you hit your head very hard, you need to relax; you're probably giving yourself a headache."

"I'm fine."

"Erik, do you know what happened at the river? Do you remember?"

"I remember jumping in, and nothing else. I don't even remember catching up to Andrew. How did I get him out?"

"When we got down to the edge of the water, Andrew grabbed a rock and I got him out, then we looked for you and I waded out to catch you. You weren't moving."

"And no one else was hurt?"

"No, only you. Andrew had barely a scratch on him." She paused then she looked up to him. "You need to eat. You haven't eaten for a day."

He looked to her arms. "Where did these come from." He gentled fingered the small cuts and bruises on her arms.

"They don't hurt; I just was running through the forest to catch up to you two." She was being honest. "I'm going to go get you something to eat. I'll send word down to the school that you are alright." He just nodded slightly.

"Then you will get my mask back." She slammed the door as she left.

She knelt back onto the door of the room and finally let herself cry again. She had never been happier in her entire life. "Elizabeth?" Amelia asked from behind her mother's skirt. Elizabeth slowly looked over to her entire family who were staring blankly at her waiting for answers.

"I need to send word down to the school, and get his damn mask back." Amelia gasped at the language. Elizabeth sent her brother and sister in law an apologetic look. "Sorry Sweetheart, I didn't mean to swear in front of you."

"I know, mama says you are under a lot of stress." She replied. "But he's okay isn't he?"

"Yes, Erik will be alright I think. I also need to send for the doctor, he will want to check to make sure Erik will be fine."

"He's not going to like that." Amelia replied innocently.

Elizabeth allowed herself to laugh lightly. "No he probably won't. But I will make him." Amelia nodded.

"I'll run down to the school if you'd like?" Daniel offered. "I'd like to stop and talk to Caroline, I only got to see her for a second yesterday and she'll need a friend." He looked from his parents to Elizabeth. Eventually they both nodded.

"Can I go as well?" Amelia asked.

"Take care of you sister." David said to his son, Daniel nodded without an argument.

Elizabeth headed downstairs to get Erik some soup broth; she doubted much else would go down easily. She was still too unsure on the extent of his damage. She was on her way back up when her niece and nephew returned accompanied by the entire vocal class and the de Changy's.

"Sorry Auntie, we were on our way to the school when they met us just passed the driveway." Amelia said innocently and gestured toward the people crowding the front entryway.

"Miss Bennet?" It was Christine. "I wanted to apologize to you for my husband actions yesterday. It's still a sore subject…"

"I understand." Simply put, but Christine visibly calmed.

"Miss Bennet?"

"Yes Andrew?"

"Can we go see Mr. Erik now? I want to thank him."

"Do you have his mask?"

"Yes." Caroline replied, "But it isn't repaired very well."

"Knowing Erik he will have made another one before her gets out of that bed. I doubt he will see you without his mask on, so I'll go give it to him; and then you can all see him. But not for long, he needs to eat." They all nodded silently and Emily reached into a little bag and handed her Erik's repaired mask. It was slightly chipped still, and the line where it had cracked was easy visible. "I think he'll love it." Elizabeth said happily.

The group quickly made their way up to the room. Raoul and Christine were in the back, but their son led the way. He took Elizabeth's hand and she smiled down at him, but she could see that he was trembling. When they reached the door she went down on one knee. "What's wrong Andrew?" She asked. His parents made their way to the front.

"I don't think he'll forgive me. I nearly killed him. He'll blame me!" Tears filled his eyes.

"Oh Andrew, he will never blame you, he jumped in because he cares for you and he would never want you to get hurt. He jumped in because you mean that much to him. Now, why don't we all quiet down, and you stop your tears and we will go see your teacher. I think he is looking forward to seeing you all again." The boy smiled. Elizabeth opened the door to the room and stepped inside. "You have guests."

"Elizabeth…" He warned. Before he said another word she handed him the repaired porcelain. He eyed it strangely.

"They're just children, they did the best they could. You can make yourself another one."

"I intend to, but make sure they understand that this one is very precious to me."

"They already do, that's why they fixed it…"

"No, I mean that I will cherish it because they were willing to fix it." He replied as he slipped it onto his face. "Now, where are my students?"


	35. A New Beginning

Chapter 34 –

Elizabeth went back to the door and opened it to be nearly run over as the students rushed in. Erik was sitting up silently his face was expressionless. The students were unsure if they wanted to approach him but when no one else moved Caroline sprung forward and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright Mr. Erik. We were all very worried for you!" One by one each of the students gave him a hug. Andrew stood back, and Erik noticed.

"Come here Andrew." He said calmly but Andrew knew he was serious. The boy edged forward, his father stiffened but he saw the look on Elizabeth's face and kept quiet.

"Sir, I'm sorry I didn't mean to go that close! I never would have wanted anything to happen to you or anyone else, it was all my fault and I promise I'll be more careful next time."

"Shhh." Erik smiled. "I'm fine, and it isn't your fault. The bank was just very unstable. I am fine and don't you ever blame yourself, it was not your fault. Whatever happened down at the river was nobody's fault and we should all just be grateful that nobody was seriously hurt. I'll be better in a few days and you are unharmed. We were lucky."

Andrew nodded. "But I'm still so…" Erik shook his head.

"No, not another apology." The boy nodded again.

A silence fell over the room and finally Christine got up the courage to approach the man in the bed. She stepped toward him and knelt down in front of his bed, her skirt falling gracefully around her. "I know that I'm sure you don't want to hear this from me, but thank you." She said barely over a whisper. "I have caused you so many troubles in your life and I cannot express how much I owe you for saving the most important thing in my life. You have no idea how much it means to me, thank you for saving him. Thank you….Erik." his name came out barely as a breath. He was the only one in the room who heard it.

Erik didn't reply for a second. "I know exactly what it means to you. I love my students as if they were my own. No matter whom their parents are I would give my life for them in a second." He didn't say it rudely, but Elizabeth knew how he felt. So many parents always assumed they were the only ones who loved their children. Elizabeth had always thought it, but never said it, she loved them more than life itself and she, just like Erik would do anything for them. She would never have said it, but she was glad he did. Christine didn't know how to reply to that, she knew he was not being kind, but she was too much a lady to call him on it. The room was silent for what seemed like hours.

Finally Elizabeth broke the silence, "As much as I'm sure you all want to stay, I need to send for the doctor and Erik needs his rest. You can all visit tomorrow when he is feeling better.

After twenty minutes the students were being accompanied by the de Changy's and David Bennet back to the school. David planned to see the doctor right afterward and bring him to see the patient.

"I am not your child to take care of Elizabeth." Erik said as soon as she returned to his room. "I assure you that I am able to tell when I can and cannot handle company."

"I know you are, and even when you aren't I know that you'd never admit it. Besides, I'd like to sit with you alone for a few minutes without being yelled at."

"I'm sorry about this morning, but you have to understand."

"I don't really understand but I accept that you need it. Is it uncomfortable right now, you can take it off when it is just you and I."

"I know, but I feel much more comfortable with it on." She smiled and approached his bed. She sat lightly next to him and he reached out to her and pulled her closer. She laid her head down on the pillow beside him. Her body molded perfectly up to his, she felt more comfortable and at home than she had in a long time. "I love you." He whispered into her ear as if reading her thoughts

"I love you too." She replied.

"Marry me." He added.

"I told you I would marry you before the accident." She smiled and snuggled as close to him as she could.

"Marry me as soon as I can get out of this bed."

"Really?" Her voice was barely over a whisper.

"Yes." He said simply smiling against the back of her neck. "Do you really think that my opinion of you would change just because of an accident."

"No….Well….I don't know….It's so hard to understand. Sometimes I just feel like I'm walking on eggshells and that everything is going to fall apart and you're going to realize you're making a mistake and that you won't want me anymore."

"Elizabeth, do you really think that I of all people would choose to leave you?"

"I know you wouldn't, but what if one day you woke up and finally noticed that you can do so much better than the life you have chosen for yourself. I know you love me and I know that you'd never intentionally hurt me, but I am just a small town schoolteacher who should be destined for spinsterhood, and I just am afraid that you will know that someday, and..."

"Shhh! You be quiet. You have never been destined for spinsterhood, you are a very beautiful..." He kissed the side of her neck. "Talented..." He kissed her jawline. "Amazing woman." He turned her head and kissed her on the lips. He could feel her smile under his lips and he took the chance to slip his tongue between her lips and she rolled to face him giving him better access.

"I've missed you." She whispered as he began to kiss down her neck.

As he got to the edge of her dress and began to pull the material back a little farther there was a knock on the door. Elizabeth jumped back as fast as possible and tried to fix her dress and her hair. "Come..." Her voice faltered slightly.

"Come in." Erik said in a much calmer voice, Elizabeth could hardly believe that he was so composed after that moment.

"Hello Sir, good to see you awake." It was the doctor followed by Elizabeth's sister-in-law.

"Hello doctor." Elizabeth said smiling, and Erik just nodded at the man. "I'll go outside while you work." She went to the door and followed Jane outside.

"Are you alright Elizabeth?" Jane asked. "You look...flushed."

"uhh, well I'm fine..."

"I'm sure you are." The older woman smiled and turned in the other direction and headed down the hallway.

Elizabeth paced the hall as she waited for the doctor to leave. When he did he shook his head at Elizabeth. "That is the most unreasonable..."

"Believe me, he's the worst." Elizabeth replied. "Is he alright though?"

"I am pretty sure your..uh...your friend, he'll be fine." The doctor replied.

"Thank you for everything. Can I go in to see him?"

"Go ahead Miss Bennet." She went into the room as the doctor went down the staircase.

"I despise doctors." Erik said as soon as she closed the door behind her.

"I know, but I wanted the best care for you." She replied as she sat down and put her hand on Erik's stomach. She began to run her fingers over the muscles beneath his nightclothes.

"Elizabeth you are amazing." He watched the smile spread across her face. "The doctor says I can get out of bed tonight if I'd like."

"We are not getting married tonight Erik." Elizabeth replied.

"You are terrible woman."

"I go from amazing to terrible?"

"Yes, because you are going to make me wait to have you."

"Have me? You could have had me that night back in..."

"Don't remind me of that night, I'm fairly positive that I made a serious lack of judgment that night." Elizabeth laughed.

"That is terrible on your part is it not monsieur?" Elizabeth teased. She got up from the bed and locked the door. "We would not want to make the same mistake today though, would we?"

"No, we wouldn't." Erik replied as his fiance approached him again.


	36. Together at Last M

So for this chapter I changed the rating of the story. I had two versions of this chapter planned, one was the PG version and the other was the full one that included a full sex scene, I am sorry if this is not for you, but you could skip this chapter if you'd rather not read the sex. It is not a long chapter, but I figured it was about time these two had sex because they've both wanted it so long. So I hope you enjoy and I hope no one is offended or turned away by this chapter. I think it was fairly tasteful and if we're all mature it will be fine to read!

Chapter 35 -

Elizabeth sat down facing Erik with a look he could not read. "I love you" She whispered into his ear leaning toward him. He could sense that she was uneasy, and he wanted her to feel as comfortable as possible if they were going to do what he was fairly positive was about to happen.

"I know that, and I love you."

"Show me." She replied.

"It's the middle of the day Elizabeth, and maybe you want to wait, we have the rest of our lives, you would not want to regret..."

"Erik I am thirty years old and I know what I want and I am capable of deciding when I want it." 

"Yes but..." He started but her look, the dreaded teacher look that she had obviously perfected stopped him.

"No buts. You are confined to that bed for a few more hours and I am going to join you." He still looked like he was going to protest. "I am starting to believe Erik, that maybe you do not want this." She stood up in front of him and he grinned slightly.

"I have though of little else in the last while."

"Good." She began to unbutton the simple buttons on the front of her dress. He watched silently and felt his body respond as his fiance took off layer after layer until she was wearing only a thin chemise, and he could see every detail of her body through it.

"Come here beautiful." He said reaching out one strong hand toward her. She took it willingly and say down next to him. He was only wearing the nightclothes that the doctor had changed him into the night before, and Elizabeth knew that. She reached under the blanket and felt for the first time, what she knew was there. Erik was nearly in heaven as she explored his sex. "You cannot do that for long Elizabeth, or this will be over far too soon. You are not the only person inexperienced in this." She took her hand of of him and He turned to her and she knew exactly what he was thinking, it was his turn.

Erik explored his fiance's breasts through her chemise, then he slipped his hand under the thin material and ran his fingers over the bud of her left breast and it instantly grew hard and peaked from his touch. he smiled and repeated the gesture with her other nipple. When he decided to move on he bent forward and replaced his fingers with his mouth and Elizabeth moaned deeply making him flick and bite down on her more hoping for her to repeat the sound. She did and made some new that were equally erotic to his ears.

Elizabeth was feeling sensations she never had dreamt before. Her entire body felt hot, and she knew she was reaching for something she never had experienced before, but she also did not know what that was. During the entire experience, she couldn't help but feeling the cold porcelain of his mask against her burning skin. She took his face in her hands and pulled him back so he could look her in the eyes. His desire was as obvious in his eyes, as it was if she were to look farther south. "Take it off Erik." She touched the edge of his mask. "Please, I want you, exactly the way you are, nothing can change that. Please."

He moved her hand from the mask, but replaced it with his own. "I can deny you nothing." He replied, and pulled the piece off his face and set it carefully on the bedside table. She smiled and caressed him disfigured flesh first with her hands, then with her kisses. Soon she felt him loosen and let the awkwardness go. She knew he had given his whole self to her in that action, and nothing they would do could change that, and she wanted to give him that same gift. She wanted him to have all of her. 

Elizabeth got out of the bed and pulled the thin chemise over her head and left herself completely naked in front of the man she loved. She stepped toward hm, and rid him of the nightclothes he wore. hen they were both naked she crawled under the covers next to him and half lying on top of him kissed him slowly on the mouth. The kiss deepened and before she knew it, Erik had rolled her around and he was on top. He felt down toward her core and could feel the evidence that she was just as ready for him as he was for her. He rubbed his fingers across her sex and her hips bucked up, which brought a grin to his face. He continued to stroke her, and soon he slipped one finger inside her as his thumb continued to rub the bud of her sex. She began to pant and groan harder and louder until he added a second and third finger and he could feel her climax and go over the edge. She started to scream, but he silenced her with his mouth remembering the amount of people wandering around the house. 

He removed his fingers from her and ran his hand up her side and she whimpered in protest slightly. "Are you positive you want to go on Elizabeth, I will not be able to stop if we go any farther?"

"Please Erik. More." Than was all he needed and he spread her legs as wide as he could manage and positioned himself in between her thighs, his members dripping at the anticipation of what was to follow. He paused. She lifted her hips up so that the tip of him was barely touching the inside of her core. "I'm ready Erik, I know there will be some pain. Please just do it." He pushed slightly inside her and he could see from her face that it was going to hurt her, so he stopped for a brief moment. She didn't let him stop, she lifted her hips quickly and he pushed far into her and broke her barrier. She cried out in pain. Erik quickly kissed her tenderly.

"I'll never hurt you again Elizabeth, never." She just nodded and she let herself adjust as best she could and he began to move inside her. Soon the pain began to soften, and she could feel the pleasure building up again as it had when it was his fingers inside her.  
Erik was struggling to keep control, he knew that he could let go any second, but he wanted Elizabeth to peak once more before he would allow that, and he could also tell that she was about to do so again. Her whimpers of pain had become those of pleasure and her eyes were filled with the desire he adored of her. When her movements below him got wilder he knew she was about to feel her second orgasm, and he watched as her face changed.

She was so close and when he saw that she was ready to climax he followed right after by watching the look on her face. He couldn't tell if she had screamed again, he had been too far gone to even react if she had. The entire adult population of the house already assumed the two were bedding each other, so it did not seem to matter that it was already true, everything else was unimportant, in this moment, all that mattered was the woman below him, Her eyelids were struggling to stay open.

"Erik," She said in a breathy whisper.

"I know. Go to sleep, I know you're tired." He kissed her temple and pulled himself out of her and the two rolled onto their sides and he tucked her securely with her bottom up against his front.

Elizabeth drifted off to sleep almost immediately, and Erik listened to her steady breathing not thinking he would ever fall asleep. Nothing could compare to what had just happened, to the love he felt for this woman, she had given her entire self to him, she had no secrets and no inhibitions with him. She was forever his, and it was an unbelievable thought.

He did soon drift off into sleep as well. The two were awoken by a slight knock on the door nearly two hours later. "Yes?" Erik called groggily.

"The cook sent you some food, for you and my aunt." It was Amelia.

"Leave it by the door child, we'll eat it."

"Alright sir." He heard the quiet sound of the tray being moved as it hit the ground and Erik looked at the sleeping woman in front of him.

"Elizabeth." he whispered in her ear. She stirred slightly and looked around the room trying to figure out why she was there, then a smile crept across her features and Erik squeezed her tighter.

"I thought it was a dream for a minute."

"No, you are the dream Elizabeth."


End file.
